NinetyThree
by 404.exe
Summary: James Potter mercilessly bullies Severus Snape during the day. But, at night, they honor a strange agreement. An exchange of ninety-three intimate encounters for the sake of Lilly's happiness.
1. Chapter One

**Fandom:**Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling.  
**Pairings:** James Potter x Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy x Severus Snape, Remus Lupin x Sirius Black.  
**Summary:** James Potter mercilessly bullies Severus Snape during the day. But, at night, they honor a strange agreement. An exchange of ninety-three intimate encounters for the sake of Lilly's happiness.  
**Warnings:** Sex between minors, blackmail (warnings chapter specific).

* * *

"_Aquamenti!_" a young male voice yelled from across the courtyard.

Severus' head immediately snapped around to find the one who had uttered the spell. But, too late, the young Slytherin was slapped square in the back with a cold jet of water that sprayed up under his hair and leaked down the back of his robe to drip on the cobbled walkway beneath his feet. For a moment, a look of pallid surprise shook the boy's face before being forced to shut down into a cold blank expression.

'_I'm already in my sixth year. I'm used to this. I'll light myself on fire before I let them get any satisfaction out of seeing me flinch,_' Severus seethed to himself.

From behind him, Severus could hear the howling laughter of more than just a few people.

'_... Won't let them get any satisfaction..._' Severus coached himself, as he slowly let out the breath that he hadn't realized he was holding.

He slowly put one foot in front of the other, hoping to walk calmly away before his tormentors recovered from their fits of hysterical laughing.

"Aw! Sorry, _Snivellus_!" a familiar voice called from amongst the laughing crowd. Severus hardened his expression and kept walking. "I was just practicing and caught you a bit there. You can send your cleaning bill to me," Sirius Black finished, barely getting the last words out before debilitating laughter overcame him.

"Cleaning bill?" another familiar voice asked incredulously. "If you even tried to put that tattered rag through the wash, it would just fall to pieces. Blimey, I'm amazed the touch of water didn't disintegrate the whole thing on the spot," James Potter went on, much to the raucous amusement of his peers.

Severus did his best not to listen and to keep his feet moving at a steady pace, even if his twisted nauseous stomach begged him to shoot out of there as quickly as he could. He cursed his ears as he rounded a corner and still managed to catch every last word of James Potter's joke, before the sound of laughter engulfed everything. Severus swallowed the knot in his throat. He just wasn't up to dealing with Potter. Not that day.

"Ah...!" a feminine gasp sounded from in front of him.

Looking up, Severus noticed Lily Evans with one or two useless Gryffindor girls by her side. His eyes took her in completely, drunk in her visage like a fatally dehydrated man lost in the Sahara. Her flowing crimson hair, pale cream colored skin, and outstanding, shining, green eyes. As he looked, he saw the familiar look of pity and anger wash over her face, to be covered by a mask of disinterest in the next instant. Severus felt his blood leap into his cheeks. He didn't even try to apologize for the wrongdoing that brought such a cruel expression to her face, as the girl he had once called 'mudblood' brushed past him.

Severus just kept going.

"James!" he heard Lily sigh, giggling slightly, as he climbed a few steps and pulled open a heavy door to quickly get inside.

Damn his ears.

* * *

Severus wearily wrung the last few drops of water out of his robe. It was an old robe. His mother had gotten it from a thrift store, or an old friend, or something. The style wasn't anything like what the other students were wearing. There were large holes that he had patched himself (often with discolored thread or a piece of leftover cloth). It never bothered him, personally. He never cared much what he looked like. He still didn't think it mattered and often persisted in wearing the worst of his robes regularly, just to prove a point.

But, on that particular day, Severus had worn one of his best robes (it only had three holes in it and they weren't even that big)! He had cleaned his hair early that morning and brushed it twice as hard to try and make it lie down flat. He had kept his head down and had even taken different routes to class, hoping that he wouldn't meet up with anybody too foul. Perhaps he had tried too hard and had heightened their interests, because it obviously didn't work.

Just that one day, Severus had wanted to be left alone. And, just that one day, he had been 'accidentally spelled' three times. That was two more than usual and it wasn't even dinner time yet.

Severus sighed heavily and leaned against the cool tiles of the bathroom wall.

"Crying in the boy's room is a bad habit, _Snivellus_," James Potter snorted from the doorway.  
Severus opened his eyes slowly, thinking that he must have done something in his past life to deserve such a painful divine punishment.

James laughed softly and unfolded his arms from across his chest as he crossed the moss encrusted tiles towards his classmate.

"Man, Lily used to hate you, but now I don't think she even sees you anymore, you know?" James was saying. "She usually scolds me a little for picking on you, so I try not to do it in front of her. But, today you were so pathetic, I couldn't help myself. And, she didn't say a word! Almost like she didn't even see you!" James finished, laughing with his mouth, even if his hazel eyes were fixed and cold.

Severus didn't say anything. His day was bad, and he had expected it to get worse. His expectations were correct.

"Hey," James said huskily, putting his hands against the tiles on either side of Severus' head and leaning in close, so that the smaller boy could smell the faint aroma of cherries on his breath. "You really love her, right?"

Severus closed his eyes. 'Any day, but today...' he was thinking over and over.

James' lips brushed against the shell of his ear. He said, "How many times, already? Eighty-seven?" so softly that even someone with their ear a foot away wouldn't have heard. "That's six more until she's yours."

The lips drifted over Severus' brow and made movements as soft as a moth's wings against his pale skin. "A promise is a promise, after all. Not that I think she'd have you, after your little outburst last year. You should just give it up."

'Anything to get your dirty paws off her,' Severus thought with venom, as James' lip came down to brush against the tips of his eye lashes.

James pulled back a bit, looking at Severus with the same expression he might if Sirius didn't get one of his jokes.

"What's wrong with you today? No snappy come backs at all?" James asked, sounding disappointed.

"Would you just get on with it, you insufferable twat," Severus spat out, hoping it would shut James Potter's endlessly moving mouth up.

Unbelievable as it was, it did just that. The surprised look on James Potter's face stretched into a satisfied grin of lust and hunger as he looked down at Severus. The Slytherin's look of disdain never wavered for a moment.

* * *

Severus' breath came in pained hitched gasps as James' Potter thrusted inside of him again and again. For the eighty-eighth time, James was taking a painfully long time to finish. So far, Severus had found no way to get around this pointed failing in his manner of intercourse, with the exception of trying to last as long as the Gryffindor (because, dealing with the Gryffindor's enthusiastic penetration after flaccid was thrice as painful before).

The young Slytherin's arms were trembling at the elbows, where he was braced against the lid of the toilet they were rutting on. His stomach muscles were twitching as well and tears ran down his flushed face and dripped from his jaw onto his chest. His robe was lying somewhere out in the main area of the washroom, where it had been thrown by his partner, along with his tie. His shirt was still hanging on around his wrists, while his pants, socks, and shoes, had been left on the floor around James' feet.

There were only a few things that James Potter demanded about his sex with the ostensibly hated Slytherin and one of those was that Severus be completely, or nearly completely naked during the act, every time. The other was that he was always on top. And, finally, that Snape was always facing him.

Severus found these demands exceedingly strange and distasteful, but he endured them. It wasn't as if he was in a position to barter, anyway.

James' hazel eyes bore into Severus' black ones. This was another queer trait of James' manner of having sex that made Severus very nervous. He would have liked to pretend that their encounters were impersonal ones, much like being bitten by a stray dog. But, it was hard to ignore his partner when he so pointedly stared him down.

Severus let his eyes slide away nervously. They moved down to look at James' hand hanging onto his leg, above the knee. As they did, he saw James' hand twitch, then lock down hard on his thigh. The pace sped up painfully.

"Uh!" Severus grunted.

James had thrown Severus' knees tight against his chest, causing the Slytherin to lose his grip on the toilet seat and slip, the exposed piping behind hitting him between the shoulders with bruising force.

"Like that," James grunted out above him. "Make some noises."

Severus bit his lip, tasting blood as he did so, though he wasn't sure if it was the bite or the way his teeth had clacked together when he fell that caused it. He wasn't about to make any embarrassing noises for James Potter. It hadn't been one of his requirements.

After a short pause in communications (but none in the rhythm), James got violent. This was also not surprising to Severus. He had come to realize that James Potter, considered the harmless class clown and social head of their class, had a lot more problems than anyone could have guessed. Unfortunately, Severus considered it his bad luck that most of it came out during sex.

With a sudden finality characteristic to his outbursts, James let go of Severus' legs, causing the boy to almost fall again, and grasped his hip with one hand and tangled the other in Severus' hair. James used both of his hands as leverage to slam into Severus with new force, causing the boy's eyes to go wide with the new depth, strength, and pain of it.

Big salty drops started to trail down Severus' face as his mind became encased in a hormone thick cloud. Strangled mewling noises crawled out from the back of Severus' throat, barely audible over the sound of slapping flesh.

James growled, a feral sound in the back of his throat. He used his grip on Severus' head to yank the boy closer to him. For a single second, his face went soft, hazel eyes that once looked gray shining with golds and greens. An agile pink tongue darted out from James' mouth and licked up a single long trail of tears.

"Severus..." James grunted, before coming hard into his Slytherin.

* * *

"So, are you going to tell me what was important enough to get the Severus Snape to dress up in his Sunday best?" James joked, as he leaned against a sink and watched the boy he had just ravished struggle to button up his shirt.

Of course, he'd cut out his own tongue before he told such a thing to Potter.

Severus had to remain sitting half in and half out of the stall they had just screwed in, because his legs couldn't hold his weight yet. Though his partner was already cleaned up and fully clothed, Severus was still sitting in a puddle of mixed juices, with only his shirt left to cover his bruised and flushed flesh.

James sauntered over to Severus' place on the floor, leaning over to take up a lock of his hair and rub it between his fingers. "I think you even washed your hair. Don't tell me you got all gussied up and scurried around with your head down just to drive me crazy," James joked, only earning Severus' ire, as the smaller boy smacked away his hand.

There was a long, pregnant pause in which James looked down at Severus with an unreadable expression and Severus continued trying to push the small buttons of his shirt through their loops with trembling hands.

"You really are acting strange today," James muttered, before turning and walking away.


	2. Chapter Two

**Fandom:**Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling.  
**Pairings:** James Potter x Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy x Severus Snape, Remus Lupin x Sirius Black.  
**Summary:** James Potter mercilessly bullies Severus Snape during the day. But, at night, they honor a strange agreement. An exchange of ninety-three intimate encounters for the sake of Lilly's happiness.  
**Warnings:** No warnings! (warnings chapter specific).

* * *

The remainder of the day after James had chased him down and collected his eighty-eighth payment, had been awful. Severus had been forced to skip his Transfiguration class, because he had yet to get his legs to walk properly or to get the stains out of his clothes. He was sure that he would hear about it later, but his dignity was worth more to him at that moment.

When Severus had finally overcome those problems and gotten to his History of Magic class, he had to keep excusing himself to go to the bathroom. Even though he had sex with Potter eighty-eight times, he still seemed to forget about how unpleasant it felt for someone else's spunk to slowly leak out of you. It was a horrid feeling that always put a terror into him that he might have soiled himself, because of doing something so blasphemous with another boy. But, every time that Severus got to the bathroom, there was just some nasty spunk in his pants. Needless to say, all his trips to the bathroom only served as fodder for the other students to whisper and giggle about and something for Professor Binns to stare at him for. By the time that dinner rolled around, Severus was exhausted.

The walk to the Great Hall seemed longer than usual. Severus struggled to stay upright and keep moving as other students of various ages, sizes, and houses buffeted him down winding staircases and narrow hallways.

Struck by a sudden bout of dizziness, Severus ducked into a small alcove to take a break. His head was spinning and he was having trouble keeping himself from walking into people. He didn't know why James' attacks affected him so much and why he hadn't yet gotten used to it. For what seemed like the thousandth time in a little over a year Severus was asking himself how he had gotten into such a ridiculous situation.

Lily. Lily Evans was why he had was in such a ridiculous situation.

Groaning, Severus slid down the wall to crouch and cradle his head between his knees. Students continued to flow by, few of them noticing their despondent classmate hidden in the shadows.

A little over a year ago, Severus had gotten into what had been a common argument with James Potter over Lily's honor. Despite James' obvious interest in Lily and his harmless appearance in front of her, Severus would find himself outraged at the sick and disgusting things that James would whisper to him about Lily when she was nowhere to be found. It would always spark a fight and James seemed to revel in it. Severus couldn't imagine such a wonderful girl attaching herself to such a vile boy as Potter.

That day, so many months ago, James had jokingly made a deal. Severus flinched sickly as he remembered it clearly.******  
**

_James snorted. "Oh, don't pretend to be such a saint, _Snivellus_. Even if you were fucked ninety-three times, it probably wouldn't be enough to wipe that constipated look off your face."_

_Severus bristled. "You disgusting pig! Is everything about sex to you? Even if you remained celibate for a thousand years, you would never be good enough for Lily! I would do anything to keep you away from her."_

_"Anything?" James growled, moving in close. Severus remained stubbornly still. He would not be intimidated. "How about those ninety-three fucks?"_

_"What?" Severus spat, putting a hand on James' chest and shoving the prat away from his face._

_"You heard me. I fuck you ninety-three times and I'll leave Lily alone. After all, sex is everything to me and Lily isn't putting out," James sneered sarcastically, an obvious joke in his voice._

_"Done," Severus snarled._

_"What?" James whispered, an obvious expression of sincere surprise on his face._

_"If you're serious, I'll do it," Severus replied evenly._

James' face had never looked quite the same as it had that day: surprised, incredulous, and calculating. Severus knew that, after the incident with Lily, after the word 'mudblood' passing his lips, he should have called off the deal. It was silly. Lily hated him and his feelings for her were lost, despite his immovable dedication to her.

Severus took a deep breath and stood slowly, rolling his tense shoulders as he did so. It was obvious to him that there was something wrong with him for putting up with the ridiculous shenanigans Potter put him through. Sometimes he wondered if he just liked the verbal sparring, the sex, or being in cahoots with someone. Either way, it was hardly worth worrying about right then. There were only five more encounters before he was free of Potter forever.

A few minutes later, Severus trudged into the Great Hall, heaving a sigh of relief. Despite his high hopes that his day would go reasonably well, it had gone terribly. The downtrodden school boy plopped himself down at the Slytherin table, barely fitting his still smarting ass onto the very end of the bench. The other Slytherins hardly noticed Severus, as he came in late. Very few of the Slytherin liked or understood Severus. Most only spoke to him to get help with their homework or because of his close association with -

"Severus!" someone called from further down the Slytherin table.

Severus slowly looked up to see a flaxen haired head slowly rise and bob down the line of bodies towards him. He couldn't help, but to sigh in relief just a small bit.

Lucius Malfoy looked at the third years that were sandwiched up against Severus with a cold glare. "Shove over, won't you?" he asked nicely enough, though his eyes looked cold and threatening. The younger students immediately pressed against their neighbors until half the students on the bench had shifted down.

Taking a seat next to Severus in the space vacated by the other students, Lucius placed his plate down in front of himself and summoned a new pair of utensils to finish his half-eaten dinner.  
"Hello, Lucius," Severus said a little shyly. Lucius had always been a bit too pushy for his liking, but he would never say anything of the like to the more popular boy.

"Hello, Severus. Good day! I haven't seen you since Breakfast," Lucius said, as he daintily placed a small bite of roasted sweet potatoes in his mouth, savoring the candied taste on his tongue. Looking up, Lucius examined the hassled appearance of his friend for a moment, his smile quickly clouding over. He leaned in closer.

"Severus, you look right awful," Lucius muttered, taking in Severus' drawn and agitated expression, as well as the way he sat with his back as straight as a rail, and how his hands moved nervously across his place setting as he grabbed food as it floated by. Taking an even closer look, Lucius noted little suspicious bruises on his friend's neck. His eyebrows knitted together above his eyes. When Severus noticed his friend's suspicious expression his hand leaped to his neck as he realized what Potter must have done while he was not paying attention. Severus' face became troubled.

Lucius sat back and started to shovel food into his mouth, which was very uncharacteristic of him. Severus also began to slowly eat what was on his plate. He didn't have much of an appetite. His stomach was still upset, because of how roughly James had been with him earlier in the day. But, he had to keep up his strength and put on a fair show for his friend and classmates.

Lucius began to slow down as he neared the last few bites on his plate, when a sudden idea seemed to come upon him.

"Severus! It is your birthday today, is it not?" Lucius asked, excitedly. A few students around them turned away from their conversations to glance over. Severus caught a few nosey stares, some disinterested glances, and even a few guilty looks. The young man felt a blush rush to his cheeks and fought to keep it down. He didn't want to feel embarrassed for them. So what if no one, save Lucius, had known it was his birthday? He wasn't the kind of person to go around telling everyone and it wasn't their obligation to know. It was none of their business, forgetting or remembering his birthday.

"I can't believe I didn't remember until just now," Lucius said, chastising himself and chattering on, not quite noticing how uncomfortable the boy beside him looked. "I did get you a little something. I hope you don't mind."

Rustling through the bag that he had thrown down by his seat, Lucius eventually came up with a small rectangular box wrapped in silver paper and topped with a black silk bow. Severus suppressed a small gasp, not wanting to look too touched. Lucius was used to getting and giving presents, just like other children. Of course.

But, he was still surprised at how pretty the present itself looked. Lucius always got him a small present around his birthday and for Christmas, but it still surprised him. He had gotten used to having his holidays go by unnoticed in his own home, so it was a change to have a friend (especially a friend as distant and high-and-mighty as Lucius) to think of him enough to buy him something.

Lucius dumped the present into Severus' lap irreverently, before turning back to his plate and meticulously cleaning off the food that was left on it. Severus was admiringly looking at the present, taking it in before he would have to open it. If Lucius hadn't turned to watch him as he finished off his dinner, Severus probably would have brought it down to his dorm and kept it under his pillow for a month or two before actually opening the little box. But, with the cold, pale, blue eyes of his only friend on him, Severus felt the pressure to act as normally as possible.

Very carefully, Severus pulled a single end of the silk ribbon. The bow fell and folded back, neatly, as it was released. Severus sat the ribbon beside his untouched plate and took a single fingernail along the seam of the wrapping paper, neatly separating it so that the corners of the wrapping paper began to fall open in his hand. Underneath the wrapping paper (which Severus allowed to fall into his lap, as if he didn't care, though he meant to fold it carefully and put it in his pocket later) was a dark-brown, heavy, cardboard box. Pulling the top off, a soft golden glow emanated from the box. Severus' quickly snapped the box closed and turned to stare at Lucius, aghast. The other boy stared back at him with a smug look on his face.

Leaning in close, he whispered into Sev's ear, "It's Felix Felicis elixir," as if Severus hadn't known it the second he saw the light coming from the small crystal vial inside. "If you take the whole thing, they say you'll have the best day of your life." Leaning back, Lucius continued to talk normally. "I meant to give it to you this morning, but, eh. I forgot. You know how it is," Lucius said, waving away the issue.

Severus' heart dropped a little at the thought of all the pains he had endured that day that could have been avoided if only Lucius would have given him the Felix Felicis elixir when he had meant to, but he quickly pushed the feeling away. The boy now had a guaranteed good day in his pocket to use whenever he wished. It was like a god send.

When Severus was able to get his voice working again, he croaked, "Lucius, where did you get such a thing. I don't know any other students who could make this. I'm not even sure if I could make this..." Severus said in amazement.

"Oh, I found it in the attic over the summer and didn't figure out what it was until we covered it in Potions a month or so back. And, you know me. Things usually go my way, anyhow. So, I figured, a guy like you could really use a leg up from time to time. Just a good deed from me to you, you know?" Lucius explained, leaning in and raising an eyebrow in a conspiratorial manner that made Severus shiver a little.

He wondered, for a short moment, if Lucius was expecting something specific from Severus in return. Severus often did Lucius' homework for him, but Severus was smart enough to realize that it was an issue of power and that Lucius could easily do his homework for himself (he was rather intelligent, when he felt the need to be). The smaller boy could tell that Lucius just wanted to make sure that Severus would do it for him. He wondered if this wondrous gift could be another little manipulation.

Looking down at the box that seemed to be inexplicably warm and feather light in his hand, Severus decided that he didn't care. This was one of the nicest things that anyone had ever gotten him.

"Thank you so much, Lucius. You're a very good friend. My best friend," Severus said quietly, looking up at his friend and feeling a few hot tears threaten the fringes of his eyelashes as he smiled warmly at Lucius. Unbeknownst to Severus, his usually sour and despondent expression changed to one of elation and happiness. His eyes, which normally looked black as pitch, glowed with a faint gold glow and a light blush came to his cheeks. It was almost as if he became a different person, for just a moment.

Lucius seemed severely surprised, the smirk dropping like a ton of bricks from his face to be replaced by a shaky and uncertain smile. The glowing boy was too busy fingering the small box in his hands to notice the flush of blood that brought a rare healthy glow to the pasty Malfoy boy. But, it was obvious to the students nearby that their undisputed leader had been thrown cleanly off his throne for a moment. That made them worried. What did the rich and clever Malfoy heir see in the poor Half-blood boy with ragged clothes and dirty hair?

* * *

Across the room, at the Gryffindor table, James Potter was having trouble concentrating on his friends. They had all finished their meals quickly, but had remained at the table to chat up the other Gryffindors that were still trickling in. James was sitting with his back to the wall, his usual spot, where he could see most of the Great Hall between and over his classmates' heads. It was just as Sirius began to go into a long and excited explanation of the last Quidditch game that Gryffindor had played against Ravenclaw, that James noticed Severus settling himself onto the end of the Slytherin table with his back to him. The Potter boy hadn't even realized he was watching for the Slytherin until he saw him come in.

Sirius began to wave his arms about, nearly knocking over Peter's goblet of pumpkin juice, illustrating the positions of the various players in the sky. James' attention was riveted to the view he had of Severus from just under Sirius' left arm. He felt himself tense as Lucius Malfoy inserted himself right beside Severus and began to chatter away. James' gritted his teeth. He considered Lucius to be a nasty greasy scum ball that just lived off of his daddy's money and probably would for the rest of his life. But, luckily, he rarely had to be closer than 100 feet to the Slytherin boy.

"James, are you listening?" Sirius asked crossly, dropping his arms, leaning forward, and blocking James' view.

James bit back an insult, frustrated that he could no longer see what the two Slytherin boys were doing. But, he put on a good front, as always.

"Yeah, I heard you. You said the Seeker caught the Snitch between his teeth, right?" James asked conversationally.

Pleased, Sirius smiled and continued gushing, eventually getting geared up enough by everyone's attention that he began to throw his arms up in the air again. James leaned to one side for a better view of the two he had been watching previously.

He could tell that Severus had something cradled in his lap, but he couldn't make out what it was. He could also see Lucius' mouth moving, as usual. Then, the strangest thing. James watched as Severus looked down at the thing in his hands and then turned to fully face Lucius before smiling. Really smiling, like how real people smile, with both their mouths and their eyes. He noticed all of the people on their end of the table pause and saw Lucius stop completely. Then, James saw Severus mutter something towards his lap and stand up, picking up the stack of books that he was still carrying with him as well as the small box that he had been cradling in his lap and leave the Great Hall.

James' eyes followed the brunette across the hall and out the door until he disappeared. He was about to stand up to follow him (not really knowing what he meant to do), when he realized that it would seem exceedingly strange to his friends to leave without saying anything. Turning back to Sirius, who was now so fully engrossed in his story that he hadn't noticed James fade off this time, James smiled apologetically. "Sorry, mate," he laughed. "Gotta take a leak. Fill me in on the rest later?"

Sirius barely noticed James as he flitted towards the door and James didn't notice Remus' sharp umber eyes on him as he left.


	3. Chapter Three

**Fandom:**Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling.  
**Pairings:** James Potter x Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy x Severus Snape, Remus Lupin x Sirius Black.  
**Summary:** James Potter mercilessly bullies Severus Snape during the day. But, at night, they honor a strange agreement. An exchange of ninety-three intimate encounters for the sake of Lilly's happiness.  
**Warnings:** Violence! (warnings chapter specific).

* * *

Severus moved swiftly along the twisting corridors of the school that lead towards the dungeons. He wanted to get to the dorm as quickly as possible. He hoped that if he got back before most of the other students he could hide his elixir without anyone seeing him.

Little did Severus know that James was following closely behind. In Severus' happiness and elation, he didn't hear James' footsteps echoing on the flagstones along with his own. He didn't notice the other boy's existence, in fact, until he felt himself being grasped by his wrist and yanked backwards. Looking back in surprise, Severus took in the Gryffindor boy's smugly smirking face.

"Hey, _Snivellus_! Where do you think you're running off to in such a hurry?" James asked, leaning in and pulling Severus towards him so that his face was inches from the other boy's.

Severus attempted to deftly slip the small brown box into the pocket of his robe, alongside the silver wrapping paper and black silk ribbon. Unfortunately, James noticed his careful movements.

Being taller than Severus by a few inches, James decided to use it. Using his grip on Severus' wrist, he pulled the boy's arm up high, as high as he could without standing on his toes. Severus' grunted in frustration as he was forced up against James' and, without thinking, put his hand (still clutching the box) against James' chest, pushing vainly to try and put some space between the two of them. James immediately took the opportunity to snatch the box out of an incredulous' Snape's hand, using his longer arms to hold it out of Severus' reach.

"What's this? A gift from your ever admiring twinkle toes?" James sneered, carelessly shaking the box.

Severus gasped, already feeling anger pooling in his gut.

"Potter, you ass! Give that back!" he screeched, leaping forward to grab the box. But, James just held fast to Severus' thin wrist, enjoying the feeling as he pressed his chest against Severus'. Severus squirmed and wiggled against the James' body, but it only seemed to cause James' smirk to stretch further across his face.

It was hard for the Potter heir to pinpoint what it was about tormenting Severus that he liked so much, but he was certainly enjoying it.

* * *

"Where in the world did James go?" Sirius muttered, rustling through his bag as he stood outside the Great Hall after dinner.

He and Remus were standing back to back. Sirius was facing the wall, rifling through his bag for the Marauder's Map, which would reveal to him where his friend had gone. Remus was facing out towards the thin stream of students leaving and entering the Hall. He was keeping a vigilant watch for any staff, even while the cogs and screws in his head crunched and turned.

"Ah, here we are," Sirius said triumphantly as he unfolded the small and well worn piece of paper that he had dug out from the bottom of his bag.

Sirius unfolded the Marauder's Map and quickly noticed himself and Remus standing just outside of the huge gaggle of feet that looked like a single nasty smudge taking up all of the Great Hall. Peering over the paper, Sirius' eyes eventually found Prongs' name right beside Severus Snape's. Their feet showed that they were facing each other and that Severus was moving nervously. Sirius' face split into a wicked grin.

"Hey, hey! Check it out," Sirius whispered, shoving the map under Remus' nose. Remus' eyebrows knit together in agitation.

"Prongs has got Snivellus cornered! Let's go watch the fun unfold," Sirius suggested with a wag of his eyebrows.

"Sirius, you've already pranked Severus once today. Don't you think hunting him down to mock him even more is over doing it wee bit?" Remus said in a painfully controlled tone.

"But, James hunting him down is all right?" Sirius threw back, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow at his reserved friend.

"James is a different story," Remus returned curtly.

Sirius rolled his eyes and blew a piece of dark hair out of his face. "Whatever you say, mate. You can stay here and feel like a good little Johnny Two Boots, but I'm going to go get in on the fun."

"Sirius!" Remus bit out as Sirius turned on his heel, easily dismissing him.

Sirius continued down the hall, turning down a steep flight of stairs that would lead him to where James and Severus were. Remus' eyes followed, burning with something left unsaid.

* * *

The game of keep-away between James and Severus was getting more heated, the longer it went on.

"I'm serious, James Potter, you annoying prick! That is not yours! Give it back this minute!" Severus seethed, no longer vainly trying to reach the box. It had occurred to him that he was only making a fool of himself and he had decided to try and keep a cool head. However, the more James mocked him, the more bothered he felt.

"Perhaps it's a box of condoms, is that why you don't want me to look inside? Or, perhaps, a large pink pecker for you to entertain yourself with when lovely Lucy is away?" James continued to sing song, as he twirled and tossed the box in the air.

Severus' usually pale and drawn face was a livid pink and his eyes were shining with tears of rage. Even his hands shook as he held one out, in a silent command for Potter to hand over his birthday present.

James raised an eyebrow at the out held hand. 'Does he really think I'll hand it over that easy? ' James thought to himself as he bounced the small box in his hand.

Suddenly, a horribly rotten idea came into his head. James was about to dismiss it as being a little too over the top cruel, but then he took another long look at Severus' face. Despite all of the hateful things he said, James rarely saw him cry. Usually, only during sex, would Severus squeeze a few wet ones out.

The fact that he cared so much for the silly little box that Lucius had given him filled James with an unexplainable rage. At the same time, the temptation to push Severus over the edge and send those tears spilling down his face was too much to resist.

His eyes shining with a cruel light, James reached his hand out as if he was about to dump the small box into Severus' hand. At the last second, just as James caught Severus' face soften and his shoulders slump with relief, he whipped his arm back, sending the box careening over his shoulder and down the hall behind him.

The next few seconds moved very slowly.

Severus' eyes widened in horror as they followed the path of the small box. It sailed through the air before hitting the floor once, bouncing half a foot up again, and then sliding across the threadbare rug to rest at the feet of a surprised Sirius Black. Sirius took in the dented little box at his feet, then he looked up at Severus just as two, big, heavy tears overflowed from his eyes and dripped down his sallow cheeks. Almost involuntarily, Sirius' mouth stretched into a grin, even as his mouth opened to blurt out an insult.

James saw it before Sirius did. Even as he felt a warm twitch in the recesses of his brain at the heart-broken expression on Severus' face and the hot tears rolling down his face, he saw the change begin to happen. Two spots of pink burned in Severus' cheeks and his eyes turned a darker shade of black, if such a thing was possible. His shoulders moved backwards, almost imperceptibly, as his wand hand came up.

"Severus," James snapped, side stepping to put himself between Sirius and the smaller Slytherin boy.

Severus' furious eyes twitched towards the sound of his name, laying into James. He was the one who had thrown away his elixir, his one chance at a happy day. Even if Sirius was a dick, James was the source of his pain.

Sirius' insult died in his throat when he saw how James was reacting. Something was wrong.

Just as Severus raised his wand to point it directly at Potter's face, Sirius brought his up with a practiced speed and precision superior to the Slytherin bookworm.

"_Bombarda_!" Sirius yelled with bravado. The spell was usually used to create a small explosion to blast open doors or windows that were locked. Because of this, Sirius had only expected the spell to knock the Slytherin back and, perhaps, knock the wind out of him. It was only once he saw the force of the blast hit Severus in the chest and shoulder and heard the boy's strangled cry that Sirius realized the damage he had done.

Sirius' hand flew to his mouth as Severus' body crumpled to the floor. James remained frozen in place, his wand still in his hand even as Sirius' clattered to the floor. James' hands were trembling, to terrified to touch his face where he felt something warm and wet splattered across his lips and cheeks. Sirius' eyes were big as saucers as they took in the shining, wet, red expanse across Severus' shoulder and arm, as he lie immobile on the dirty hallway floor.

The sound of the explosion drew the attention of other students (mostly Slytherin) nearby. A young girl was one of the first to get there. Her bloodcurdling scream at the sight of the mangled boy on the floor brought even more students.

But, it was too late. Sirius and James had already fled.


	4. Chapter Four

**Fandom:**Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling.  
**Pairings:** James Potter x Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy x Severus Snape, Remus Lupin x Sirius Black.  
**Summary:** James Potter mercilessly bullies Severus Snape during the day. But, at night, they honor a strange agreement. An exchange of ninety-three intimate encounters for the sake of Lilly's happiness.  
**Warnings:** Gore. (warnings chapter specific).

* * *

When Severus came around, he found that he was staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. It was neither the dark recesses of his bed in the Slytherin dorms, nor the small dusty bedroom that he kept at his mother's home. The ceiling was high above his head and ornately carved, with small columns, delicate gingerbread detailing, and soft shadows cast from the tall windows directly across from him. Everything was painted a diligent white and not a single speck of dirt existed on the well kept walls and windows.

Turning his head to look around him, Severus took in the perfectly maintained beds that lined the walls of the long, bright, Hospital Ward. Groaning, Severus suddenly remembered what had happened to him. He could remember Potter teasing him and himself getting very angry. He could remember that James threw away his Felix Felicis elixir. The last image he had in his mind's eye was of him pulling out his wand and lowering it against the Gryffindor boy when he was hit with something amazingly painful. After that, everything was a blur of faces, words, and pain.

Severus struggled to pull something further from his pounding head, but he was having trouble concentrating. After a moment, he realized that he was hearing people talking in the next room. All that separated the area with the beds from what was beyond were a few white curtain dividers, so he could hear almost every word, if he listened carefully.

" ... please, Madame Pomfrey! I feel somewhat responsible for what happened. I just want to see him, to make sure that he's alright with my own eyes. I won't wake him," Severus heard a young girl pleading. The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

There was a long pause, and Severus could hear the faint irritated scratching of a quill against parchment. Finally, a quiet sigh.

"I suppose, if you promise not to disturb him, you can sit with him for a short while. But, I must say again not to stress him. I've given him various potions and placed a few healing spells on him, but they'll take some time to do their work," Severus heard a mature woman's voice respond. He assumed it was Madame Pomfrey, to whom the girl was speaking.

The girl began to gush her thanks to the nurse and, as she did so, Severus nervously looked down at himself. If he was going to have a female visitor, the male part of his brain wanted to look the least repulsive as was possible.

Moving any part of his body was painful, but that was not what Severus was worried about. Looking under the sheet, Severus realized that all of his clothing had been stripped off of him, leaving him with a pair of thin pajama pants that he knew weren't his. As he moved, Severus felt all the skin of his chest and, especially, his left arm stretch, itch, and ache. Tentatively, the Slytherin boy reached up to touch the skin of his neck with his good arm. The pads of his fingers ghosted over dry, rippled, and peeling skin.

Severus pushed the sudden burst of nervous fear he felt at the rough and painful feel of his skin to the back of his mind as Lily Evans rounded the white curtains that separated the sick bed area from the rest of the Sick Bay and laid eyes upon him. She was the perfect image of beauty and purity to Severus with her deep red hair flowing around her face and framing her striking green eyes, shot with red from tears already shed. She had a Gryffindor scarf wrapped around her neck and her cheeks were flushed and pink. Severus could only distantly think that it must be cold outside.

Severus knew he must have looked very bad, because as soon as her eyes met his, her hand flew to her mouth and her eyes began to shine with more tears. After a pause, Lily rushed forward, only to hesitate again once she reached his bed. "Oh, Severus..." she murmured in a voice like a lamentation.

Severus did his best to muster a smile, but it only made Lily's eyes water more. He never was very good at smiling, even for beautiful crying girls.

Giving up on the smile, Severus just looked up at the teary red-head with a fearful expression. "Do ... do I really look that bad?" Severus asked, uncertainly.

Breaking into an awkward smile, Lily giggled roughly, a few stray tears making it down her cheeks before she quickly brushed them away. "You look absolutely horrible!" she exclaimed, pulling a chair up behind her and sitting down beside his bed.

Reaching forward, Lily caught a strand of Severus' hair between her fingers, gently pulling and polishing the shining black lock. It felt soft between her fingers. She never really believed that Severus didn't wash his hair. She supposed that it was just so glossy, black, and unruly that it just took on the characteristics of unwashed hair. After touching it, she smiled warmly again.  
"Does it hurt very much?" she asked cautiously.

Severus' eyes were trained on her face, even as she examined the strands of his hair between her fingers. "No," he muttered. "No, not very much," he repeated, clearer this time. "Madame Pomfrey must have given me something, because it only hurts when I move wrong."

Lily smiled, happy to hear that Severus didn't feel as bad as he looked while still twirling Severus' hair between her fingers. That is, until her fingers stuck on a piece of dried blood that had gotten into Severus' hair and dried into a knot there.

Trembling, the teenage girl pulled away as if she had been bit.

There was a long moment in which Lily tried to look at everything in the room that wasn't the boy in the bed and the boy in the bed continued to look only at the girl not looking at him.

Finally, Severus broke the silence.

"I don't suppose you have a mirror, do you?" he asked, quietly.

Lily seemed to become flustered. Like most other girls at Hogwarts, she did have a mirror in her bag. However, what she saw when she looked at Severus convinced her not to give the boy the mirror.

The skin, all the way up his neck and the left side of his face, were a mottled purple, yellow, black, and red color. Besides the color, the texture of his skin was alternately rough and shiny smooth, depending on what stage the burn was at in the sped-up healing process. A blood vessel had burst in his left eye, so that there was little white left to see in his darkened eyes. Though it was obvious to Lily that he must have been cleaned up, there was still a few specks of blood in his hair and in the delicate burnt skin on his chest, arm, neck, and face. There were white bandages wrapped around his chest and shoulder, but a few spots of cherry red were already seeping through. Lily was only glad that Severus' left arm was still under the sheets. She had heard from a few other girls that Severus must have thrown up his arm to protect his face and that the bones had been shattered, the flesh blown away, and that pieces of the boy had to be cleaned up after the incident from as far down the hall as five feet from where he had laid.

Lily shivered at the thought.

"I'm sorry," she smiled nervously. "I'm afraid I left it in the dorm this morning, by accident. I've been missing it all day," she lied very badly.

Severus looked at her for a long time. It was obvious to him that she was lying. And, he decided that, if he really looked that bad, maybe he didn't want to see if for himself after all.

Another long silence would have ensued, but Lily began to chatter on about everything and anything she could think of. Severus was certainly happy for it. He wasn't yet awake or thinking well enough to ask the questions he would have wanted later.

"James is in very big trouble," she began. "I almost couldn't believe he would do that to you. But, you know, a lot of people saw him and Sirius running away from, you know, where they left you. And, James had ... blood and all that on his robe. They even found Sirius' wand in the hall!"

Lily was waving her hands around and her brilliant green eyes were floating around the room, even as the ever present tears began to well against her eyelashes again. Severus so wanted to comfort her, but he also wanted her to continue. So, he decided to remain quiet until she was finished.  
"I talked to James, you know? Just before the Headmaster got hold of him. He didn't even try to deny it, even though he did say it was an accident. I tried to tell him that how he treated you was wrong. That what was between us didn't involve him. I usually try to tell him that. But, this time, he acted like it was all your fault that it even happened! Can you believe that! We may be fighting, Sev', but I know you. You don't start fights. I can't believe ..." the tears began to fall, "I can't believe he could be so cruel. I never knew..."

Severus felt the skin on his face pull as an agonized feeling came across him. This was exactly what he didn't want Lily to feel, what he had sacrificed his dignity for. He had never wanted the Potter boy's cruelty to hurt her. He wanted to stop him before that ever happened.

"Lily," Severus began, reaching his good hand out towards her, his fingers trembling gently at the thought of touching her again, after so many years. The fact that they were talking civilly, after so long, still hadn't struck him.

"Severus!" Lily yelped, suddenly leaping forward, Severus' arm flying through her long red hair and over her shoulder. Abruptly, Lily's big watery green eyes were thrust into Severus' face, making the soft gooey part of his chest, under all the burnt skin and bruised ribs, melt and twitch. "Severus," she repeated, softer this time, "I know what you said was horrible, but I've known that you've regretted it ever since. I always thought that James was a little rough around the edges, but you were right about him all along! I should have listened to you. You were my true friend all along," as she wound down, she seemed to loose her momentum. "Um, ah. I suppose what I'm saying is, I'm sorry and I forgive you. Let's be friends again."

For a long moment, Severus couldn't say much of anything. Lily's face began to droop. A year and a half is a long time to wait for forgiveness with grace.

Thankfully, Severus was able to close his mouth and smile apologetically. "I'm really sorry, too. Let's do that. I would really like that," he said softly.

Lily smiled as Severus' tender fingertips wiped away her tears. 

James sat with his head down. He was about as drastically different from Severus, at that moment, as was possible.

He had just finished a vicious argument with Lily, in which she had backhanded him, before running away crying. Minutes later, Professor McGonagall had taken him aside and, with a stern face, escorted him all the way to the Headmaster's office. James had no chance to say anything to either of them.

James entered the mystery of the Headmaster's Office for the first time with a blank stare plastered on his face. The circular room was filled with all manner of curiosities and magical artifacts, but James couldn't pull his eyes away from the dirty scraped tips of his shoes to glance at any of them.  
Professor Dumbledore sat at his desk, his hands folded in front of him, and stared intensely at the boy sitting before him. For all intents and purposes, James Potter should have been the poster boy for teenage wizards the world over. He was a prefect and well on his way to becoming Head Boy. He played on his House's Quidditch team. Not to mention one of the cutest girls in the school fancied him. But, it was quite obvious to Dumbledore that James was far different from what he made himself out to be.

Attacking another student was an extremely serious offense. There were fine lines between jokes made in fun, bullying, and outright attacks. Dumbledore only hoped that, with his eyes filled with stars, James had been unable to fully see those lines.

"James. I know you're probably loathe to speak about what happened, at the moment, but if you would only confide in me as to what it was that started all of this, perhaps we could work on solving it together," Professor Dumbledore offered, smiling indulgently.

However, James remained as impassive as a statue, his eyes affixed to some spot between his knees and his shoes.

"Did Severus say something to anger you? Did you him? What did Sirius have to do with what happened?" Dumbledore prompted, though his face betrayed little hope.

There was no change in James' demeanor.

" ... If you don't feel like cooperating, I will have no choice, but to punish you as severely as any truly remorseless villain deserves," Dumbledore threatened in a singsong voice.

Still, nothing.

Dumbledore sighed. "I see, then. We are at an impasse. Well, then, Mister Potter. I regret to inform you that I will have to contact your parents and speak to your friend, Mister Black, before I can move forward any further. Until I contact you, you are to remain in your dorm."

James didn't so much as twitch.

Dumbledore stared the boy down, but could barely muster anything more than a little bit of exasperation in his voice. "That is all, Mister Potter. You may go."

Without so much as a glance in his direction, James Potter stood and walked out of Dumbledore's office and down the stairs to the Gryffindor hall. There, he passed Professor McGonagall and a very nervous looking Sirius Black. But, he gave neither of them so much as a glance. His mind was a maelstrom of thoughts and it took all of his years of discipline to keep his face blank. He couldn't even begin to imagine feigning emotions at that moment.

That would have to wait for another day.


	5. Chapter Five

**Fandom:**Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling.  
**Pairings:** James Potter x Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy x Severus Snape, Remus Lupin x Sirius Black.  
**Summary:** James Potter mercilessly bullies Severus Snape during the day. But, at night, they honor a strange agreement. An exchange of ninety-three intimate encounters for the sake of Lilly's happiness.  
**Warnings:** Oral sex. (warnings chapter specific).

* * *

Professor McGonagall took an exhausted seat across from the Headmaster, as the day wound down to a close. Taking the small reading glasses off, the matronly woman massaged the bridge of her nose, attempting to release some of the stress she could feel settling into her sinuses and face.

"Headmaster, this was quite the day," she muttered, reaching up to pull off her hat and place it reverently in her lap. The pressure was beginning to spread to the crown of her head, as well.

"Yes, quite," was Dumbledore's quiet reply, as he put down his quill and allowed the large book he had been writing in to levitate back to its place on a nearby bookshelf.

"I know it is not my place to question your decisions, but the Snape boy was severely injured. Don't you think that the other students will feel that the Gryffindors got preferential treatment? Any other student would have gotten suspended, at the least," McGonagall put to Dumbledore. Her small and weary eyes were respectfully trained on her contemporary.

Dumbledore's eyes seemed tired as he looked up to meet the Gryffindor Head's questioning stare.

"I had my suspicions that James, though the catalyst of the entire outburst, was not the one that hurt Severus. I'm proud to say that his friend, Sirius, spilled the beans right away, so to say," Dumbledore explained, chuckling lightly at the rhyme he had just crafted.

McGonagall raised her eyebrows, finally settling her restless hands in her lap. "Really, now?"

It was obvious to Dumbledore that Minerva was very curious about what had actually happened, but she was much too well mannered to ask.

Smiling again, Dumbledore began, "Mister Black was quick to tell me that he was, in fact, the one that had cast the spell on young Mister Snape. But, that he hadn't realized that the spell he used would cause such an explosion. He was quick to say that he regretted his actions and that he would do anything to make up for it, et cetera, et cetera. I thought he sounded very sincere, so I hope you don't mind that I left his punishment in your hands."

"Shouldn't you contact their parents?" McGonagall asked sleepily. It was normal protocol to contact the parents in such a case.

Dumbledore seemed ready for that question, as well. "Seeing as we both know the Black family's ... affiliations, I believe you can understand how informing them of their son's indiscretion would have only made things more complicated for the boy. Severus' father was a muggle man, after all."

McGonagall paused for a moment. She hadn't considered that. After a short moment of thinking, it occurred to her that Dumbledore had made exactly the kind of decision she might have about the two boys' punishment, if she had known what Sirius Black had told the Headmaster. She raised an eyebrow at Professor Dumbledore.

He chuckled with a mischievous expression. "Teenagers are strange creatures, but they are certainly not unpredictable," he explained cryptically.

"Sir?" McGonagall prompted cautiously.

"Ah, there is one more thing!" the elder wizard exclaimed, dodging the question in McGonagall's voice and slowly getting to his feet and coming around his desk. "Though I did tell you that I would leave Sirius to you, I believe I might be so bold as to make a suggestion?" Dumbledore began, bending to help Minerva up out of her seat and to escort her to the door.

"Of course, sir," she replied, listening as she got her stiff joints moving slowly.

"It might be properly ironic to have Mister Black assigned to help Mister Snape about the school until he recovers. Madame Pomfrey has informed me that it will take some time for the boy's wounds to heal properly and it would be good medicine for Sirius to tone back some of that rambunctious energy of his and become properly subdued."

McGonagall nodded sagely, completely agreeing with the Headmaster. "That is a very good idea, Albus. I shall definitely consider it."

Standing at the entrance to his office, Dumbledore nodded his head to the woman, politely. "Thank you again for your hard work, Minerva. Please have a good night."

"You, as well, Albus," McGonagall returned, smiling warmly at the older man, before turning on her heel and walking surely down the hall and towards the Gryffindor tower.

* * *

Severus tossed restlessly in his small cot. He was used to sleeping on his side, but every time he moved his left arm, pain would shoot from the ravaged limb up his neck and across his chest, staggering the boy.

At first, that pain had terrified Severus. He was sure that something was drastically wrong with his arm and was afraid that it would never properly heal. However, just in the time since Lily had left and he had gone to bed, the arm had already began to get better.

Madame Pomfrey had explained to him that she had decided to allow his wounds to heal slowly. She had told him that the purpose of this was because, though she could very quickly patch him up so that his arm and eye would work just fine, he would scar very badly. Healing quickly often did very little to fix the appearance of scars or skin discoloring. Madame Pomfrey had found it very funny explaining that her decision to heal Severus slowly was because of years of treating teenage girls, who were fiercely worried about their appearance. Allowing the wounds to heal slowly and, thus, more naturally would mean that she would not have to bring him back in to attempt to fix the scars later. She had commented that banishing scars was a difficult art and somewhat beyond her.  
Severus admitted to himself that he wouldn't have liked it very much if he had a huge burn scar over one side of his face and chest, but the pain and inability to move was starting to convince him that he disagreed with the nurse's decision on how to heal him.

Still attempting to settle his churning mind, Severus considered the Madame's explanation of the injuries to his arm. It had looked horrible earlier in the evening, once Severus had mustered the courage to pull the covers off of it and take a good look. The flesh that was left was warped. The slow healing process had covered all of the open skin with thick roped scars, but had not yet replaced the muscles and vessels that had been blown away. So, his arm had resembled a badly stuffed and lumpy door stop. Madame Pomfrey had told him that the bone had been shattered and she had been forced to remove all the bone fragments from his forearm. She was going to allow the flesh in his arm to recover, before administering Skele-grow the next day. Severus wasn't looking forward to it. He had heard the process was extremely painful.

Sighing, Severus began scratching at the dry skin of his neck. Even after all that introspection, he still couldn't settle himself down to sleep. He assumed he had slept too much during the day to sleep just then. Not to mention the remaining in bed for the remainder of the day had only served to make him more restless. In school life and at home, Severus was used to constantly scurrying from one task to another. It was difficult for him to stay still and attempt to rest.

Severus had been sighing for about the twentieth time that night, when he heard the sound of footsteps echo gently around the large room. Glancing over, Severus expected to see Madame Pomfrey coming around the white curtains and was hoping that he could ask her for something to help him sleep. But, even though Severus heard the footsteps continue coming closer and closer, he saw no one. Shivering, Severus closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. He was hoping that it was just a ghost that wanted to give him a little scare and pretended to be asleep in the hopes that it might put off the annoying spirit.

While Severus continued to pretend to sleep, the footsteps came closer. Just a few feet from his bed, Severus heard the footsteps hesitate and stop. Severus struggled to resist the urge to scratch his nose. Feigning sleep was a difficult task for someone as uncomfortable as Severus was at that moment.

Just as Severus was trying to decide whether or not to pretend that he was scratching his nose in his sleep, he heard the rustling of fabric from where the intruder was standing. Curious, Severus cracked one eye open to look at the source of the sound.

Taking in who was standing before him gave Severus such a scare that he jumped, hurting his arm, and found himself clutching his arm and grunting in pain. Seeming surprised, James Potter ran forward, leaving his Invisibility Cloak on the floor where he had dropped it.

"Don't move, you idiot," he hissed, as he crouched beside Severus' bed.

"I'm an idiot, you're the idiot!" Severus snapped back, not bothering to lower his voice. "What are you doing here, you dick! Ass! I hate you, you cock-su-" Severus yelped, spitting venom as he poured every inch of pent up hate he held for the Gryffindor boy into his voice before James pressed a hand against his poisonous mouth and motioned for him to be quiet.

Severus did him the favor of biting the palm of his hand as hard as he could, but remained quiet after James yanked his hand back, cussing a blue streak.

"Why are you here? What do you want?" Severus asked angrily.

"I was coming to see if you were alright," James spat back. "I wouldn't have if I had known that I was going get such a warm welcome."

"What did you expect, you prick! You're the reason I'm here!" Severus snapped, glaring at the Gryffindor boy.

James opened his mouth angrily, ready to throw a come back. However, nothing came out and he, eventually, closed his mouth with an abashed expression.

"I'm ... I'm sorry, Severus," James said, quietly.

Severus didn't even bother to think about James' apology. He snorted.

James shot him an angry look.

"Just sorry about this, right?" Severus asked just as quietly, gesturing towards his arm.

James' eyebrows furrowed, confused.

"I mean, you're not sorry about the teasing, the bullying, the mean things you say, or, you know. The other stuff," Severus faltered, not quite able to talk about their sexual exploits.

James was frustrated. No, he hadn't meant to apologize for any of those things and he didn't like Severus suggesting that he should do so. He considered it very generous of himself to apologize for Severus' accident, considering he hadn't thrown the spell personally.

Severus sighed at the other boy's silence. "James, you're not really sorry. You're just shook up by what happened," Severus caught James' eyes flicker to his withered arm. "Don't bother handing out false apologies to me. I already know what you're like."

James was quiet for a long moment. He seemed to be thinking deeply, but Severus didn't really care.

He would freely admit that he had never seen the Potter boy actually ... think, per se, but he was not impressed. Severus was quite sure that, in a few weeks, James would be back to his old self and he would be back to his old life of abuse at the hands of the self-proclaimed 'Marauders' of Hogwarts.

"I am sorry," James said quietly.

"Hum?" Severus hummed, shaking himself out of his ruminations and turning his head to better see James' down turned expression.

"I really am sorry, Severus. For everything, I guess," James muttered, slowly standing over Severus.

"You guess?" Severus questioned with a raised eyebrow and a skeptical expression.

"I'll show you that I'm sorry. That I'm serious," James said firmly, leaning over the boy in the bed with a determined look on his face.

Severus shivered. He had often seen such a look James' face, usually just before the boy jumped him.

"James, I'm hurt," Severus warned, as the larger boy crawled onto the bed. "I can't sit up or move my arm at all, because of how it hurts. Please, please don't do this," he begged, feeling a knot of fear build in the pit of his stomach.

"Would you calm down?" James snapped, yanking the sterile white sheets off of Severus to reveal his bruised and burnt chest and torso. "You don't have to move. In fact, just hold still."

"I don't want this! I'm going to yell! Please, just leave me alone!" Severus begged, using his right hand to grasp at any part of James' clothing that he could get at.

James' calloused hands lingered over Severus' sharp hips for a moment, before quickly sliding the loose white pajama pants down to his knees. He could hear the gasp and mewl of displeasure from Severus, just as he saw the boy's hips jump and twitch. When James looked up at Severus, the boy was using his right hand to cover his eyes. But, James could still see that the undamaged skin was flushed with his embarrassment or shame.

The Gryffindor boy gulped. He felt the familiar way his heart was beating and the shameful activity in his head and pants. Whenever he collected on their deal, he would explain these reactions away as teenage hormones. But, at the moment, James was having trouble doing that. Luckily, James was very good at lying to himself and, thus, proceeded to tell himself it was just a conditioned response. This would be his way of apologizing to Severus and he would never do it again. That was that.

Licking his lips, James reached down and firmly clutched Severus' limp member in his hand, beginning to pump up and down. He could hear the other boy's breath begin to come faster in the eerily silent Hospital Ward at the same rate he felt Severus become hard in his hand. Ignoring the erection pressing forlornly against the zipper of his pants, James shifted his weight and leaned forward to lap at the head of Severus' penis. Severus gasped and his eyes opened wide. The glans of his penis was extremely sensitive and gave him a tingling and tickly feeling all over.

James chuckled at the soft sounds of pleasure from the boy beneath him. Becoming more adventurous, James took the roughness of the back of his tongue and gave one long lick from the base of Severus' penis all the way to the tip of his head. That caused Severus to gasp and arch his back, tossing his head to one side and muttering something inaudible. Unconsciously, Severus' right hand wandered down to tangle in James' tousled hair. James' repressed a moan at the touch.

No longer thinking much beyond the swollen member twitching up at him, James licked his lips in anticipation. He folded his lips over the sharp edges of his front teeth before slowly taking in Severus' swollen member. From above him, he could hear the Slytherin mumbling incoherently, but he wasn't concerned enough to stop and look up. Instead, James pressed Severus into his mouth as far as he could get him before he touched the back of his throat. As he pulled his head back up, James swirled his tongue along the underside of Severus' member and sucked hard. It sounded like Severus might have tried to say something, but it was garbled together with something that was either a sigh or a squeal.

James laughed in the back of his throat as he playfully took some of the loose skin at the base of the penis in his teeth and pulled, causing more interesting sounds to emerge from Severus. It was surely fun to tease and surprise him. But, with a jolt, James remembered that the favor that he was doing Severus was supposed to be a for the Slytherin boy, not for James. Buckling down, James popped his jaw a few times before descending on Severus again.

This time, James wasted no time bobbing his head up and down. He imitated the style he had used the first time, pressing his tongue against the underside while going down and sucking while going up, all the while making sure to cover his teeth so as to not hurt Severus. Severus immediately began to react, tossing his head, muttering, and fisting James' hair in his right hand. Happy with Severus' reaction, James began to use his hands, as well. With one hand, James squeezed and rolled Severus' testicles, while sneaking the middle finger of his remaining hand between Severus' pert ass cheeks to finger his sphincter.

"Aha! James, wha- ... What are you doing? ... -doing to me?" Severus mewled, feeling himself being slowly pushed over the edge. He had never felt so many different forms of pleasure at one time. He could barely process what was happening to him.

James repressed his own glee at feeling Severus' legs kick and his breath catch. The Gryffindor knew that the boy beneath him was tottering over the edge. So, with one, final, great suck, James dragged the rough taste buds of his tongue across the top of Severus' dick.

Severus gave a strangled cry, his hips jerking up so that his penis pressed further into James' mouth, and let himself go. Severus' cum splashed across the palate of James' mouth before he jerked back. The remainder of the cum shot across the Slytherin's stomach. Severus' eyes rolled up and he found it hard to breath for a few moments. Everything faded to white for him.

James looked on quietly. He had seen Severus cum, but never like that. Often, he barely even noticed that the other boy had come until he finished himself.

The small pale boy panted heavily, basking in the tremors that ran up and down his body in the aftermath of his orgasm. James contemplated the boy in front of him while licking his lips and tasting the salty taste of Severus' cum in his mouth.

Leaning over Sev', James pulled a handful of tissues out of the box on the bedside table. He then leaned down and gently cleaned the semen off of Severus' chest and groin. The boy moaned half-heartedly at having the sensitive skin wiped off.

Pausing, James then leaned over Severus. The Slytherin boy blinked up at James with uncertain and sensual eyes.

"Forgiven?" James asked quietly.

Severus' dark eyebrows drew together in confusion. He had forgotten what they had been talking about before.

James smiled mischievously. "Good," he laughed.

Dipping his head quickly, James pressed his wet and reddened lips to Severus' flushed ones before slipping him the tongue.

"See you later, then," James said quietly before bouncing off the bed and throwing his cloak over him.

Severus turned his head to follow the sounds of James prancing out of the Hospital Ward. In a questioning movement, Severus licked his lips.

Suddenly, a look of horror came over his face and he gasped, "Oh, ew! I just tasted my own dick!"


	6. Chapter Six

**Fandom:**Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling.  
**Pairings:** James Potter x Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy x Severus Snape, Remus Lupin x Sirius Black.  
**Summary:** James Potter mercilessly bullies Severus Snape during the day. But, at night, they honor a strange agreement. An exchange of ninety-three intimate encounters for the sake of Lilly's happiness.  
**Warnings:** No Warnings! (warnings chapter specific).

* * *

After two days of lying in the Hospital Ward, downing foul tasting potions and elixirs, and growing back all the bones in his left arm, Severus had been allowed to go back to his dorm. His skin was still burnt and a little discolored, but the damage was focused on his arm and had receded from most of his face and chest. Madame Pomfrey had given him strict orders to keep his arm wrapped in linen strips, not to get his bandages wet, and to visit her every day to have the bandages changed. Otherwise, he was to go back to his classes and attempt to take it easy until he was fully healed.

The Madame had also taken the courtesy of letting him know that his Professors had decided that he might need a fellow student to help him around, since one of his arms were out of commission, and that they had decided that Sirius Black would be best suited for the job.

At first, Severus had been aghast at the idea. It seemed so unfair to him. Even though he was the one that had been bullied and attacked, he had to have one of his attackers follow him around for a week or more. He thought that Sirius would resent the punishment and would take his resentment out on Severus, but there was little the Slytherin boy could do about it. His professors, in their infinite wisdom, had made their decree and he was wise enough not to go against it.

Severus sighed as he began to gather his books for the start of the day. He found that it was painfully true that day to day activities were very difficult with only one arm usable. Some of his more heavy books persisted in slipping out of his fingers constantly and trying to open doors with his only arm full of books was a terrible ordeal. However, Severus found that all of his Slytherin classmates were very quick to help him.

"Allow me! Poor boy, I can't believe those foul Gryffindors could get away with something like this," a pretty, raven haired, seventh year, Slytherin girl crooned, as she helped Severus pick up his History of Magic textbook. Severus just looked at her with a dumbfounded expression. Pretty older girls never talked to him before.

It was the same story when Severus was trying to leave the dorm and was having trouble opening the door.

"Let us! So sorry! We'll help!" a bunch of bouncy first year students yelped, jumping up from their nearby seats and to collectively hold open the door. Most of them were curious looking little girls, but Severus noticed a number of boys staring at him with strange expressions as well.

When Severus thought about it, as he hustled towards his first class, he realized that many of the Slytherins had been throwing him sympathetic glances all morning. It worried Severus. He wasn't very familiar with what other students considered 'drama', but even he was aware that such as that was brewing all around him.

"Sni- (ahem) Severus!" the Slytherin boy heard a voice yell from across the hall. Looking up, Severus noticed a familiar head above the rest of the students. Sirius was a good few inches taller than most students his own age, which put him quite a bit over the large majority of children, making it very easy for Severus to spot him.

With careful maneuvering, Severus elbowed his way over to Sirius Black. He had never actually approached the other boy of his own volition, so the action felt very strange to him, almost as if it were against his very nature. But, Severus swallowed it down and eventually made it over to the Gryffindor to stare up at him in cautious expectation. He certainly wasn't going to make the first move.

Sirius looked awkward for a moment before clearing his voice. "I have an excuse form to be late to my classes to help you out," he explained with a slight flush to his cheeks that Severus thought was terribly out of place on his contemporary handsome face.

Severus continued to stare at Sirius until he realized that was all the Gryffindor boy was going to say. "I know. Madame Pomfrey informed me," he said quietly.

Sirius seemed to become even more embarrassed for a moment, before awkwardly extending his hand. "I suppose I'll take your books, then," he grumbled, though his face didn't betray any real unhappiness.

Severus silently handed over his books. "Your next class?" Sirius prompted shortly.  
"Transfiguration," Severus replied just as shortly.

Sirius took the tall stack of books and lead the way down the hall, his cheeks still a suspiciously ruddy color. Severus followed him, secretly enjoying the easy trip he had, as he followed behind the taller boy. All the other students naturally split and allowed Sirius through so that, as long as Severus followed in his wake, he didn't have to worry about anyone jostling his injured arm.

Severus considered Sirius to be acting strange. He had expected him to begrudgingly do what was asked of him, or to be openly abusive during the duration they were together, or to even blow off the assignment all together. Instead, Sirius seemed to be almost embarrassed; ashamed, even. Severus might have seen such expressions on Black's face after a good tongue lashing by a teacher or a prefect, but never had such a look been directed at himself. It was a strange feeling. He almost felt bad for putting such a look on the normally outgoing boy's face.

The day went by quietly with Sirius. The tall Gryffindor was fairly reserved, preferring not to look at Severus if he knew Severus was watching, but sometimes snatching looks at the Slytherin boy's sling in which his arm rested. Once, Sirius even commented on how he thought that Severus should get a book bag or something, because he had an obscene amount of textbooks. He had looked at Severus expectantly, but the Slytherin hadn't replied. He had never bothered to ask for one, because he knew his mother would never get him one. Sirius had looked like a kicked puppy when Severus didn't say anything, but the smaller boy brushed it off. He figured that any remorse that Sirius felt that day was much like the regret that James had expressed a few nights previous. They had just been scared by the experience. Perhaps they would learn a lesson from what happened, but Severus doubted it.

When lunch rolled around, Severus found himself ravenous. Sirius had lingered at the entrance to the Great Hall, as if he wanted to say something to Severus, but the Slytherin shot off as quickly as he could for his House's table. Though he appreciated the fact that Sirius wasn't boisterously torturing him between classes, the awkwardness was beginning to get to him. He wasn't sure if he could withstand a full week with all the strange sidelong glances and guilty looks.

Sirius slunk off to the Gryffindor table with his tail between his legs. Unbeknownst to all the other students, save his closest friends, Sirius was suffering from intense regret and self-loathing.  
Remus looked up as the dark haired young man as he took the seat beside him, a glum expression plastered on his face.

The newly appointed Prefect elbowed Sirius playfully, hoping to evince some kind of cheerful expression, but he was rewarded with an exasperated sigh. Remus tilted his head and sighed, as well.

"It didn't go so well?" he asked.

Sirius groaned loudly, before plunking his forehead down on the sturdy wooden table in front of him.  
"It was a disaster!" he exclaimed, though his voice was muffled by the thick table he was speaking into. "He might have spoken five words to me. God, I'm such an asshole. What the fuck is wrong with me?" Sirius spat.

Remus rubbed Sirius' back comfortingly. Sirius hadn't yet explained why he felt so bad about himself and what happened and Remus didn't feel the need to ask. He could imagine. After all, Sirius' family was the kind that put people down for who their family was. Sirius probably thought that, by picking on Severus, who was friends with Malfoy, he was setting himself apart from his brother and his family. When, in fact, in attacking Severus he had just made himself much more like his family than he ever could have fathomed. After all, he had attacked a half-blood boy. There were already rumors amongst the other Houses that Sirius did it to impress his family and the Dark Lord. It was a depressing, but predictable, assumption.

"Whatever, Sirius. At least you have an excuse to see him," James snapped from his place across the table, startling Peter, who was sitting beside him. "Lucius' nasty little toadies won't let me anywhere near him. Do you know how many times I've been hexed today? Five!"

Remus stared at James blankly. In his head, he thought about how he figured that James was just getting back what he had doled out to the Slytherin boy, but he wasn't about to speak up. He had his fair share of shame to take, as well. After all, he had stood by and said nothing for many years, while the bullying went on.

Sirius picked his head up to look at the sulking James with a suspicious look. For a second, Sirius wondered why James was angry that he couldn't get to Severus. James, as far as he knew, still considered it Severus' fault that Sirius had blasted him, somehow. Sirius glanced up at Remus, who was staring over at James with a contemptuous gleam in his eyes. But, Remus didn't say anything about it, instead glancing down to smile reassuringly at Sirius. So Sirius followed his example and ignored James.

"Remus, do you think I'm a bad person? Honestly?" Sirius asked quietly, looking up at Remus and hoping that no one at the table would hear him. His eyes were beseeching as he gazed up at the steady golden eyes of his friend.

The Prefect looked away for a second. Remus seemed to seriously consider the question. Because he knew Sirius, watched him, and listened to him every day, he interpreted all of his actions in a different way from all other onlookers. He knew that, to most of the student body, Sirius was a handsome and rowdy youth whose faults were forgiven, because he was fun to hang out with and quick with a clever joke. But, that didn't make you a good person.

Remus' eyes softened as he looked back at Sirius. "I don't think you're a bad person, Sirius. But, you have done some bad things. I know you didn't mean them, though. And, if you're sincerely sorry, I'm sure that Severus will understand and forgive you, along with everyone else."

Sirius cracked a watery smile up at his friend. It was at times like that one that Sirius truly admired the light haired boy. For all that Remus endured in his life, it had only made him more solid and reliable, unlike Sirius who was unstable and unpredictable.

"Thanks a lot, Moony," Sirius murmured.

Remus smiled down at him.

James snorted and flicked mashed potatoes at Peter.

As Severus approached the Slytherin table, he saw Lucius excitedly motioning him over. Severus was happy to sit down beside his friend, but immediately became nervous as all eyes focused on him.

"Severus, Severus! Look at you!" Lucius clucked, turning Severus' face this way and that to better see his remaining abrasions. "You're covered in bruises! I can't believe they let Potter and that loud-mouthed Black off with a few detentions and a call home. It's honest to goodness negligence!" Lucius seethed, his fingertips lightly tracing the tender yellow and black bruises that still lined Severus' jaw line and neck. The light touches sent shivers down the dark haired boy's spine.

Lucius looked around at the other students that were also staring pointedly at Severus' bruises and his bandaged arm and hand. The Malfoy heir made pointed eye contact with each student. "We can't stand for this," he intoned solemnly.

Severus felt surprise slowly clank through his brain. "What?" he said, quietly. He was watching Lucius' face carefully. He hadn't seen the tow headed boy in a number of days, before he had been hurt. Lucius had not visited him in the Hospital Ward nor had he sought him out in the dorm the night before. Severus had thought that Lucius was being his usual thoughtless self, but he could see now that he had something a little more wicked in mind.

"Don't worry, Severus," Lucius replied with fervor. "If the staff of this godforsaken school does not intend to take care of their students, then we will."

There was the quiet murmuring of assent from all around the table, as Lucius once again looked around at the students that watched him. Severus felt flustered and worried.

Knowing that all the students were watching Lucius and not himself, Severus glanced over at the Gryffindor table. Sirius was lost in deep conversation with Remus Lupin and James seemed to be arguing with the little ratty boy, what was his name, Peter? They looked so unsuspecting...

"Severus," Lucius whispered, shaking Severus out of his reverie and almost scaring him off of his seat. "Don't think that James Potter will get away with this. I will have my revenge," Severus had never seen Lucius' cold, blue eyes look so hot with emotion. "You are my ..." Lucius seemed to choke on the next word, "You are my friend and I won't have anyone else touching you."

Severus shivered.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Fandom:**Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling.  
**Pairings:** James Potter x Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy x Severus Snape, Remus Lupin x Sirius Black.  
**Summary:** James Potter mercilessly bullies Severus Snape during the day. But, at night, they honor a strange agreement. An exchange of ninety-three intimate encounters for the sake of Lilly's happiness.  
**Warnings:** Sex between minors (no penetration). (warnings chapter specific).

* * *

Once Severus' last class was done, he quickly ditched the still painfully awkward Sirius and hurried to the Slytherin dorm. The way that his fellow Slytherin students had looked at him and the things that Lucius had said had worried him since lunch. The more that Severus rolled things around in his head, the more worried he became.

Bursting into the Common Room, Severus did his best not to be derailed by the warm welcomes of a few of his classmates. He wasn't used to being greeted at all, let alone warmly. Severus decided to brush it off as part of Lucius' strange propaganda campaign and quickly scanned the room. Not finding the tow headed boy in the Common Room, Severus moved on to the boy's dorm room.

In his head, Severus was going over what he wanted to say to Lucius. He had figured some things out. He knew that Lucius meant to use what happened to him as a means to bring resentment, dislike, and distrust down around the ears of the Gryffindor house. This time, not only from the Slytherin house, but from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, as well. Despite the fact that Severus was warmed by the thought of Lucius going so far to, in his own way, protect Severus, the guilt of being the cause of such a thing weighed heavily on him.

Severus thought that he might say that to Lucius, but had no idea how to do so without making himself look like he was allying himself with the Gryffindor House. Such a thing would absolutely enrage Lucius.

As Severus continued to attempt to organize his thoughts, he moved on to the dorm rooms. Stepping into the darkened room, he could hear some soft rustling sounds coming from deeper in the murk. The light was dimmed with only the luminescent green glow from the moss that grew along the rock walls and ceilings to light the darkened aisles. Hesitantly, Severus murmured Lumos.

A soft white glow emitted from the tip of Severus' wand, tossing its gentle light in a halo around the hesitating young man. The Slytherin boy slowly advanced by the light of his wand. The charm attached to the tip of his wand sent long leaping shadows dancing along the roughly hewn walls and ceiling and Severus jumped and hesitated more than once at the dark things that his imagination created.

"Sev'?" he heard a familiar voice call from near his own bed.

Hurrying, Severus rounded a corner to approach his own velvet hung bed and see that it was open. Lucius poked his head out with his usual smug grin.

"I thought that was you," he said, unusually happy.

Severus' heart sank. Originally, he had hoped that Lucius would be in a good mood when he spoke to him. But, the way that Lucius' pale eyes shined with happiness in the weak light of his charm sent Severus' heart leaping into his throat. Talking to him when he was in such an obviously happy state was going to be harder than he thought.

Crawling back into the bed, Lucius sat back against the wall and allowed his feet to hang off the opposite end. Patting the spot beside him, Lucius beckoned Severus to sit beside him. The dark haired boy hesitated for a moment, his own primordial instincts telling him not to willingly go into a small enclosed area with another man that he meant to engage in a fight with. However, the hesitation passed quickly and, snuffing his Lumos charm, Severus crawled into his own bed with Lucius.

They sat there awkwardly for a few seconds, though Severus was the only whose awkwardness showed on his face.

"Lucius, there's something that I wanted to talk to you about," Severus began, his head tilted down as he began to organize his thoughts.

"Actually, that's somewhat ironic. I was here to try and avoid talking to you," Lucius said with a nervous laugh. Looking over to gauge Severus' reaction, he only saw a surprised look dissolving into hurt. "Oh, don't make that face! That's not what I meant!" Lucius added quickly, hurriedly digging in his pocket, before pulling out and dropping the item he had been looking for into Severus' lap.

Curious, Severus reached into his lap and picked the rectangular object up to better see it in the weak glow from the walls. The injured Slytherin boy was struck with surprise to see that it was the same small, brown, cardboard box that Lucius had given him for his birthday, dented in one corner. His fingers trembling slightly, Severus pulled the dented top from the small box. A penetrating golden glow immediately poured from the top of the bow to illuminate the dancing water in Severus' dark eyes.

"... There's no way ..." Severus choked out, carefully shaking the small glass vial into his palm.

Lucius quietly absorbed the expression on the dark haired boy's face before bursting out, "The fact that you lost your birthday gift on top of being injured seemed especially horrible to me! I'm glad that I was able to get it back from one of the first years that picked it up. The box is a little banged up, but the vial is still fine and every thing. I checked it," Lucius finished quietly.

Severus looked up at Lucius, his pallid face lit up with the soft glow from the Felix Felicis elixir. "Lucius, thank you so much. You've gone to so much trouble on my account. I wish everyone knew how kind you were," Severus breathed.

A rare flush graced Lucius face at the earnest expression Severus showed him. His hands fluttered up, nervously, and his eyes finally shifted away from Severus' face for a moment to glance at the space slightly to the left of Severus' head.

"The –" Lucius had a false start and had to cough into his hand to clear his throat. "Those horrible Gryffindor boys who did this to you should have been expelled," he choked out, still not quite looking at Severus' face.

Severus looked away, as well, glancing down at his lap, watching his fingers slowly trace the delicate angles of the glass vial.

"It was an accident," Severus muttered towards his lap.

"That!" Lucius choked again, reigning back his anger with a visible effort. Severus shied away from him slightly, but also fought to pull himself back in. After all, he had meant to talk to Lucius about his smear campaign. As heart wrenching as it was to have his birthday gift given to him for a second time, he still needed to talk to Lucius.

"Lucius."

"Sev!"

The two boys stared at each other, both their cheeks heating up with embarrassment as they realized they had both started to talk at the same time.

"You first," Severus said quietly, watching Lucius cautiously through dark lashes.

Lucius sat back and swallowed whatever it was that seemed to be sticking in his throat. Severus brushed away a niggling thought about Lucius maybe getting a sore throat.

Eventually, the pale boy looked at Severus with an intense expression. "Severus, you know I'd do anything for you, yes?"

Severus hesitated. No, he never thought that. He knew that Lucius held him in his confidence and seemed to respect him more than he did any of his many toadies. But, Severus never thought that Lucius would ever put his neck out for him. He always thought that a slick sense of self-preservation was what defined most of the students of Slytherin and Lucius possessed this quality to the nth degree.

When Severus seemed to falter, unsure as to how to respond to Lucius question, Lucius' face became even more intense, if possible. He turned himself so that his whole body was facing Severus and put a hand over the one that was still on the elixir.

"Severus, I like you very much! In fact, I think I like you the most. You're not like those other leeches that only latch onto me because of my family or my wealth or status. You're intelligent, and strong, and independent. You don't need me, but you're my friend anyway," Lucius tumbled out, his words coming out one after another. They sounded like words he was very comfortable using to describe Severus, but the organization of his thoughts made it obvious he hadn't thought out how to say it at all.

Severus flushed slightly and looked away in embarrassment. It hadn't sunk into him what significance his words had.

Lucius charged on; "I know that the Potter boy is watching you too." Severus started, fear seeping into every bone in his body and setting a cold chill into his limbs. He was terrified, praying that Lucius didn't really know what was between James and himself. "I watch you too, so obviously I noticed him and the way his eyes follow you through the halls. I used to think that I was the only one who saw your virtue, but I know now that I can't keep dragging my feet," Lucius' hand tightened over Severus', his warmth sinking into Severus cold fingers. "I mean to do right by you, Severus."

Severus really wasn't quite sure where to look. He had heard all the words that Lucius had said to him, understood the meaning of those words, but he just couldn't reconcile the intentions Lucius was trying to convey with the perception that he had always held for the Malfoy heir. He wanted to look into his eyes for an answer as to why Lucius was saying such strange things, but the intensity of his cool eyes were too much for him.

"W-what? Lucius, I don't," Severus stuttered, finally settling to tucking his head down into his injured shoulder to try and hide his panicked expression while he tried to sort out his own thoughts.  
Lucius couldn't bring himself to be so patient. He shifted nervously for a few seconds before he decided on a course of action.

Removing his hand from over Severus' he moved to put two fingers gently under Severus' bruised jaw. "Severus, look at me," Lucius commanded, giving a gentle pull that Severus resisted with a heating of cheeks. "Severus," Lucius said again, a reiteration of command. Severus remained impassive and Lucius' lips resolved into a thin line.

Quickly and with obvious embarrassment, Lucius leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to Severus' cheek. The bashful boy whipped his head around quickly, just in time to see Lucius settling back into his previous seat with a set jaw.

"I…" Severus started falsely, "I don't know what to say," Severus croaked out, just barely looking Lucius in the face.

Severus had barely gotten the words out of his mouth before he felt himself being dragged in for a heated kiss. Severus gasped in surprise, breathing in the taste of mint before Lucius slammed his mouth against his, literally. He slammed his mouth against Severus', their teeth clicked together, and Severus yanked away with a hand to his smarting mouth.

"Severus!" Lucius breathed, somehow ignoring his botched first attempt and using his grip on Severus' waist to tip him backwards onto the bed. "Severus just say okay," Lucius rasped into the curve of Severus' neck, sending a shiver down the back of the boy beneath him.

Lucius began to clumsily kiss, suck, and bite at the undamaged side of Severus' neck. Despite the lack of elegance in the movements of Lucius' mouth, Severus was feeling himself react. Probably more from the fact that the prince of the Slytherin house was throwing himself at him, the black sheep and general anti-social grumpy pants of their house, rather than the way that Lucius' dick was grinding against his leg.

Lucius was chanting his name into his neck with a breathless neediness. His hips were moving and his dick was rock hard where it pressed against Severus. The injured young man, despite being more than a little disoriented, was starting to feel the heat of it. His own organ began to throb and harde, his breath coming in heated pants as Lucius continued to rub against him.

Without realizing it, Severus let Lucius' name pass his lips in a worried whisper. Lucius immediately froze and poked his head up at Severus. The image that Lucius saw when he looked down at Severus was enough to make his dick twitch and scrape itself tantalizingly against his underwear. Severus' eyes were shining, his cheeks were flushed, and his lips wet. His eyebrows were quirked in a definite look of pleading (or, so he thought).

Lucius' breath hitched and he immediately reached down to his robe and began to fumble with the buttons. Severus' gaze softened as he watched the frantic blonde struggle with his robe and reached forward to brush away Lucius' hands, to start undoing the robe himself.

He really wasn't sure what he was doing anymore. But, Lucius seemed so sincere. So willing. Severus' hand was shaking as he thought of being loved, of having someone on his side, someone to turn too always. He had never had that; not at home and not at school. He never would have considered Lucius' to be his partner. But, after experiencing Lucius' enthusiastic affections, Severus found his chest pounding and his head spinning in a whole different way.

Lucius' innocent attempts to connect himself to Severus felt so far removed from James' sure-footed assertion of his body over Severus.

After Severus opened the front of Lucius' expensive robe with his good hand, he began to pull the pale boy's throbbing member from his pants, shaking a little at the brush of pale curling hairs against his knuckles.

"Gods, Sev'," Lucius moaned, his pony tail sliding over his shoulder to tickle Severus' cheek.  
Impatiently, Lucius pushed Severus' robe up, not bothering with the mis-matching buttons down the front, gathering the heavily patched fabric around Severus' middle. Desperateness in his touch, Lucius pulled at Severus' worn jeans until the button popped open the the zipper released itself. Hips trembling, Lucius pressed himself into Severus' hand with a needy growl.

Guiding Lucius with the hand on his dick, Severus pressed Lucius' member against his own, sucking in a small breath at the sensation of their velvet soft skin pressing together. Lucius' hips twitched once, an experiment, and Severus' gasped. The friction was heaven.

With more confidence, Severus wrapped his long thin fingers around the both of them, pressing them together with more firmness. Lucius' hips began to pick a grinding pace and their breathing began to come in time with one another.

Severus' head spun. In the confusion, James' touch came to mind. Lucius panted, moaned, grabbed at his clothes, and said his name over and over. James' touch was so firm and always gave the feeling of control. James rarely spoke during sex. Yet, somehow, they felt so similar to Severus'.

The thought was going somewhere. Severus was sure that if his mind was clear and calm, as it usually was, he could have followed it until he found the point shining in the murky depths. But, with Lucius sliding against him by virtue of his own precum, he couldn't stay focused for more than a millisecond. It was too much.

Lucius' breath was coming in harsh gasps, at this point. He could no longer grind out Severus' whole name, parts and pieces slipping out. Severus' was feeling it too. He couldn't think with the heat pooling in his guts and dick.

"Uh, cumming. Lucius, cumming!" he yelped, trying to pull on Lucius' sleeve to let him know. But, the only arm that was free was his uninjured on and the fingers were too numb and clumsy to get a good grip.

He didn't think Lucius could hear him through his own cloud of lust. Within moments, Severus felt himself reach his own apex, spilling his own seed across his stomach.

Severus wriggled in discomfort as Lucius' continued to thrust desperately against his sensitive skin. But, just a second more of the pain of pressure against his sensitive flesh and Lucius added his cum to what was already splashed across Severus' torso.

Lucius collapsed on top of Severus panting and Severus shivered as the cool air of the dorm ghosted across his flushed skin.

James came to Severus' mind again, but Severus pushed the thought of him away. It was much better to be in a relationship where he was surely loved. Severus had watched his mother rage against a man that she loved who hadn't loved her. Severus never wanted to become his mother. Severus' would sever his ties with James clearly and stay with Lucius. It was the logical thing to do.  
Even if his heart ached as he thought of it.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Fandom:**Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling.  
**Pairings:** James Potter x Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy x Severus Snape, Remus Lupin x Sirius Black.  
**Summary:** James Potter mercilessly bullies Severus Snape during the day. But, at night, they honor a strange agreement. An exchange of ninety-three intimate encounters for the sake of Lilly's happiness.  
**Warnings:** Sex between minors (no penetration). (warnings chapter specific).

* * *

Being in your first relationship is more than a little awkward. Severus had always heard his female classmates comfort or commiserate with one another over such topics, but had never taken them very seriously before. After tying himself to Lucius, Severus was wishing he had paid more attention to what they were talking about.

Severus had never been romantically involved with anyone before. He had loved Lily, sure, but had never gotten much feedback in the same flushed fashion. Severus had been physical with James, sure, but had never had to worry about pleasing him on an emotional level. Having an actual well rounded reciprocated relationship with somebody was putting the young Slytherin quite out of his depths and he wasn't sure what to do about it.

Lucius would pursue him after class and shoo a disgruntled and distrusting looking Sirius away to carry Severus' books for himself. Lucius would insist that Severus sit amongst his friends and talk with them about their families and local gossip. Lucius would follow him into the bath, press his thigh against his own in class, insist on sharing text books despite having his own, and carry Severus into empty classrooms and the deserted dorm room so they could rut against one another endlessly. At first, Severus had been warmed by the manic attention. But, by the second week, he was starting to get tired of it.

And, he was starting to get lonely.

Severus didn't feel he could say anything to Lucius. As soon as he said anything against his lover, the enthusiastic blond would begin to bemoan Severus' feelings, asking why he didn't love him. Severus never seemed to be able to get it across that he could dislike the things Lucius did while still like Lucius himself. The other Slytherins were civil to him, but obviously suspicious of his sudden and surprisingly close relationship with Lucius. None of the Gryffindors, James and Lily included, could get within speaking distance of him without Lucius popping up and steering him away, with a buffer of five or six sneering Slytherins in tow.

There was nobody that he could talk to that would listen. He used to be able to talk to Lily, before last year. This year, he had gotten along by listening and talking to Lucius. But, he felt that he had even lost that outlet. Severus was starting to talk less and less. His enthusiasm for class began to dwindle and he no longer had interest in doing extra research or earning extra credit. He felt like a trophy owl that Lucius carried proudly on his shoulder that was much too shabby and out of shape for the honor.

Severus was sitting in the library pondering just such an analogy as the snow began to sprinkle through the frosty atmosphere.

* * *

Outside in the biting chill of the night, Remus Lupin watched delicate snowflakes catch in Sirius' pitch colored hair. The three of them (Potter, Black, and Lupin) were making their way to the library for a late night study session and had decided to detour through the courtyard. The snow had yet to accumulate on the ground, but watching the little flakes dot Sirius' silky black hair was more than a little fascinating to Remus.

James and he had purposely lagged behind, so Sirius was already a few paces ahead of them. His longs legs meant that this was a rather normal occurrence. Sirius would stop and look back at them occasionally, Remus would smile, Sirius would smile back, take a look up at the slowly falling snowflakes, then start off again. It was a nice pace.

"Lucius is such a toad," James said, picking up on the conversation they had left off when Sirius looked back. "He won't let me get anywhere near Severus. Like I'm some kind of villain who's going to torture his little princess. Can you imagine?" James spat.

"No, I suppose I can't," Remus sighed, eyes still affixed to the back of Sirius' head. It was ducked down into his gold and red Gryffindor scarf now. To avoid the cold, Remus supposed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" James snapped, his eyes narrowing as they focused on Remus' impartial expression.

"Nothing, it doesn't mean anything," Remus replied in the same tone of sarcasm.

"You know, your passive aggressive bullshit gets really old really fast," James muttered, still keeping his eyes trained on Remus' face.

Remus suppressed a sigh before finally turning to face James sulking form. "You blew up his boyfriend. I don't blame him for being an oppressive twat."

James eyes widened as if he'd just been slapped and he stopped where he stood. Remus slowly came to a stop as well, turning back to look at James. Sirius noticed the silence and stopped. The boys were nearly twenty paces behind him now.

"You guys are going to freeze your pickles off!" he called over his shoulder, before deciding to keep moving. He was almost at the door to the main hall. They could have their conversation in the cold, he would rather be inside.

James and Remus ignored Sirius.

"Boyfriend?" James repeated in an incredulous voice.

"Yes, boyfriend. I suppose they could just be very close friends, but Lucius often wears an awfully covetous expression when he's with Severus, if you haven't noticed. Severus' expressions are a little telling, as well. But, why should you care, James?" Remus asked, moving in closer to the dark haired Gryffindor. "Do you have some kind of stake in what they do?"

"No!" James answered quickly, incensed. "No! I don't give a fuck what they do," James snapped before storming off after Sirius, leaving Remus to watch him go.

"Is Remus coming?" Sirius asked as soon as James stepped inside. He still had his mouth and nose half hidden in his scarf and the snowflakes were starting to melt into water droplets in his hair.

"I don't know, why don't you ask him," James muttered as he kept moving past Sirius.

Sirius sniffed and decided to do just that. Remus was just a few feet from the door when Sirius stepped back out into the cold.

"What's up his bum?" he asked.

Remus just shrugged and smiled.

* * *

By the time James got to the library, he had cooled off a little, but he still felt more than a little stung. 'Why does Remus have to be such a nosy ass sometimes?' he thought to himself as he pulled on his coat and scarf to open his skin up to some of the warmth from the big hearth in the library.

As his eyes scanned the library's large and largely empty oaken reading tables, he immediately spotted the lonely form of his long missed Severus. The Slytherin boy was sitting in the corner of the room, his head propped up on his now nearly fully healed arm, staring out an already frosted window. His eyes were deep in thought, but the thin slash of his mouth across his features made it obvious that he was brooding about something. The fact hardly tickled the surface of James' mind. Severus was alone, truly alone, for the first time since he was released from Madame Pomfrey's care.

It had been nearly a month since James had touched the thin Slytherin and he was fairly sure he was going into withdrawal. The Potter heir would often wake in the middle of the night covered in sweat and having soiled his knickers with pleasure. He would get stiff in the middle of class for almost no reason. Not to mention that just the slightest mention of the Slytherin would have him daydreaming for hours on end.

This combination of unwanted pining for Severus and Remus' overly perceptive comments made him more than a little conflicted about finding Severus there.

It had been a hard month for James Potter. However, seeing that lonely expression on his long time surly companion made him hope that it would soon get much easier.

Without the slightest pretense of preoccupation, James made a b-line for Severus, quickly seating himself in the chair beside him. He turned his whole body towards Severus and relished the boy's reaction. Severus jumped at hearing James sit down. It was obvious that Severus thought he was someone else (the insufferable blond that had been his constant shadow the past few weeks) from the way his eyebrows shot up on his face and his mouth dropped open after taking in James' countenance. Severus then immediately flushed from the tips of his ears to the collar of his shirt.  
A slow grin spread across James' face. He thought that, perhaps, he wasn't the only one suffering from their separation and made a mental note to jinx the pants off of Malfoy before the week was out.

"Long time, no see, eh?" James intoned, leaning in towards the flushing boy.

Severus pressed himself against the wall behind him, suppressing a shiver that he told himself was from the chill of the cold stone against his back.

"Malfoy has been keeping you all to himself. It's quite unfair, not that I care. We haven't had the chance to meet up in, gods, weeks! You must be terribly lonely," James chattered coquettishly, enjoying the familiar feel his old teasing comments had on his tongue.

"James?" Severus gasped, obviously still reeling.

"No, it's just little old Bea Arthur," James returned with a sour face.

"What?" Severus replied in confusion.

"Severus~" James sing-songed, snapping his fingers in front of the confused boy's face. "Are you here with us, today?" James asked, tilting his head and arching an eyebrow at the Slytherin.

Severus colored at the comment and immediately changed his dumbfounded expression into glare. "James Potter. Leave me alone," he declared, stubbornly moving to look back out the window.

"Come now, Severus, don't pout," James sighed, moving closer to the Slytherin out of spite. "We haven't seen each other in a long time. I thought I had properly apologized to you about the, uh," James faltered, "Don't tell me you're still upset." James' tone was challenging, but as Severus glanced over, the uncertain set of his mouth was not lost on the perceptive brunette.

"No, that's not it. I'm glad to see you're doing well," Severus returned soberly, his smarting gaze softening into a much more exhausted one. "I'm just not in the mood to joke around today, James."

James sat back in his chair for a moment. "You don't look very well, Severus. Are you in pain or something?" he asked with concern.

"No, it's nothing like that," Severus sighed, still tired. "Don't worry yourself over it."

James was silent for a moment, before leaning forward and whispering, "Do you want to mess around in the back, then?"

Severus sputtered and turned around, his face at least twice as red as before.

"What, you don't want too?" James asked archly.

To which Severus replied, "N-no. I do," in a very small voice.

* * *

The sound of teenage rutting sounded abrasively loud in the small cabinet in the back of the library. The smell of dust and stale paper hung heavily in the small compartment, only just barely masking the strong scent of their own bodies as they tore at each other's clothes.

"Here, I thought you were fucking Malfoy," James sneered, giving Severus' belt a firm tug and releasing it from its catch.

"I was. Am," Severus replied breathlessly as he tried to undo James' tie with trembling fingers. James saved him the trouble by loosening it with a yank and pulling it over his head.

"How did you even get it up?" James gasped in faux amazement, after which Severus had to stifle a snort.

After this exchange, there was a fair amount more panting and grunting and a noticeably steep decline in intelligent conversation. Teeth clicked as kisses were misfired, pants were dropped, buttons were plucked, and a lot of awkward vigorous rubbing ensued.

If Severus was at all in his right mind, he probably would have been appalled at how confidently he pulled off James' clothes, with how much vigor he attached himself to his attacker's mouth, and the kind of enraptured moans that escaped said mouth. But, Severus was not in his right mind. He was isolated in ways he hadn't been since starting his schooling at Hogwartz. He was lonely, confused, and generally over flowing with male hormones.

Shortly after both boys had pretty thoroughly soiled each other all about the area of their groins and were panting against one another, James decided to open his cursed maw.

"So," he began, feigning non-chalance, despite the fact that his hand was still loosely looped around both of their dicks. "You really like Lucius?"

That feigned nonchalance left him quite out of his depth when Severus' eyes suddenly began to shine with unshed tears.

This time it was James' turn to turn an unchaste pink and gape at this new reaction from the Slytherin boy.

Before anything progressed any further, James snatched Severus' scarf off the floor and offered it to Severus, who immediately buried his face in it and sunk to the floor.

James could only look on in abject horror. Every cog and wheel in his brain might as well have been a hundred years in disuse for all the mobility they had against Severus' heart wrenching tears. The boy was upset, sincerely upset, and James had no idea what had caused it or how to fix it. Severus had always been so strong and cold before him. It was unlike anything he could ever dream or fear to have him act so vulnerable and broken.

Hesitantly, James dropped down on his knees in front of the crying Slytherin, his hand frozen halfway across the space towards Severus. The Potter heir had no idea if touching was appropriate in that kind of situation. Did Severus want to be left alone, would he be ashamed for James to see this? Or, did Severus want to be comforted like a girl, to be held, coddled, and told superficial words of reassurance? James didn't know, he had no idea.

Luckily for him, James didn't have to take action right away. After a few nerve racking seconds of crying, Severus began to choke words out between his sobs.

"I am, hic, lonely. I've been so, huck, lonely," Severus gasped, never lifting his head from his knees.  
Words were better. Words James could work with.

"You've been lonely?" James asked uncertainly. "Why didn't you just talk to …" James floundered. He had no idea who Severus would have to talk too.

"I can't, hic, talk to him. He doesn't want to hear what I want to say. He never listens, and everyone else is suspicious of me, and the Gryffindors are all being talked bad about because of me, and all you want is sex, and I can't get to Lily, and I don't know what to do!" Severus howled, reaching a pitch of despair by the end of his long run of complaints.

James just about jumped onto Severus, trying to muffle his desperate cry with a crushing hug. "Shush, Severus, don't cry!" James hissed nervously, glancing nervously at the door for anyone who might be rushing to see what was happening. Somehow, James was feeling an overwhelming amount of shame on Severus' behalf.

"You want to talk to Lily?" James asked desperately.

Severus nodded frantically through his tears. Lily was kind, Lily knew him so well, Lily finally liked him again, Lily would listen to him and tell him what to do.

James yanked on Severus' arms, finally pulling him to a stumbling stand. "Then, we'll go see Lily, okay? But, you have to dry your tears. You aren't going to be charming any ladies looking like that," James chided lightly, producing a gold embroidered hankie from his pocket and proffering it to Severus.

Severus took it gratefully and immediately began to scrub at his eyes and blew his nose with a honk. It had been a long time since he cried with such abandon. As his senses returned to him and his sense of damaged pride with it, he hoped it would be even longer before it happened again.

"You ready?" James asked uncertainly, taking in Severus' appearance. His eyes and nose were red. His hair and clothes were a mess (but that was pretty normal, even on Severus' good days) and he looked like he was trying to hold his dignity together with paperclips and duct tape.

Severus nodded decisively and began to lead the way towards the library's exit. He was quite tired of being an emotional wreck and was ready to have Lily help him put himself back together.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Fandom:**Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling.  
**Pairings:** James Potter x Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy x Severus Snape, Remus Lupin x Sirius Black.  
**Summary:** James Potter mercilessly bullies Severus Snape during the day. But, at night, they honor a strange agreement. An exchange of ninety-three intimate encounters for the sake of Lilly's happiness.  
**Warnings:** No warnings! (warnings chapter specific).

* * *

Sirius and Remus were taking their time getting to the library. James had been awfully rambunctious since he lost all of the activities that had usually kept him so busy. After the incident with Severus, he had lost his position as Prefect, lost his place on the Quidditch team, and a lot of the kids who were his friends before weren't talking to him as much. He no longer had as much to use up his energy and, thus, seemed to always be looking around for something to do. Sirius and Remus weren't as excited to go running to the library after dark as he was.

The two were enjoying the slow walk up the lonely corridors, not rushing on their path to the third floor where the library resided. They had settled into a comfortable silence, so that Remus was surprised when Sirius questioned him out of the blue.

"Remus, do you have a girl friend?" Sirius asked nonchalantly.

"Wh-what?" Remus sputtered, wheeling to look at Sirius, who was blushing a little, across his straight nose and sharp cheeks.

"Um, you don't have to answer if you don't want too," Sirius amended, looking away a little.

"Ah, no! It's no problem," Remus replied quickly, trying to gather himself. "No, I don't have a girlfriend."

"Oh," Sirius said, sounding a little disappointed. Remus flinched. "I was kind of hoping you could give me some advice."

"Advice?" Remus questioned, struggling to keep his voice steady. "Is there someone that you like?" he asked, feeling his stomach plummet. He had been preparing himself for this for a long time, but it still took him off guard.

"Well, maybe. A little. But, I've never really liked someone before. I don't know to approach them. It's weird," Sirius muddled on, scratching the side of his nose as he pondered.

"No, it's not weird," Remus said quietly. "It's natural to worry about making a good impression on the person you like."

"That's what sucks! I think I might have made a bad impression already!" Sirius exclaimed, leaning into Remus with a worried expression.

Remus had to close his eyes against the twisting in his gut. Who else had Sirius made a bad impression on recently, other than Severus? Sirius had constantly been worrying about Severus and about how he hadn't been able to help him with his books like he was supposed too, due to the other Slytherins interfering. He had been worried that Severus was still angry at him.

"I, uh, I suppose I just have to keep trying. It's no use if I give up," Sirius finished for himself, allowing the conversation to lapse into silence.

"Yes, no sense in giving up," Remus repeated with a sense of finality.

* * *

In the end, Remus had feigned an upset stomach and hurried back to Gryffindor dorm, leaving Sirius to find an empty library and wonder where James had skittered off too.

Remus' head was spinning with the implications that his conversation with Sirius created. He wanted to think that he would have more resolve in the face of his own doomed aspirations. He didn't want to run away from Sirius' confession like he did, but he couldn't help himself. He needed to escape and deal with his feelings as quickly as possible so that he could smile and comfort Sirius when he needed it. James was getting closer to coming to terms with himself every day. Remus was sure it was only a matter of time before he finally claimed Severus for himself.

As Remus stepped through the portrait into the Gryffindor common room, he was greeted by warmth and laughter. Unfortunately, none of it could penetrate his own gloomy demeanor.

"Remus Lupin! What in the world could get you down?" a familiar voice called from a nearby chair.

Turning, Remus saw that Lily Evans had perched herself on the ottoman of the chair. Another Gryffindor girl had her feet propped on Lily's lap, but Lily was already pushing the other girl off and moving towards him.

"You look like someone just knocked over your sandcastle. What happened? I thought you and the boys were going to the library?" Lily asked, all innocence and worry.

Remus considered the possibilities. Lily was no longer speaking to James, for now. By virtue of loyalty to his friend, Sirius was not talking to her either. Aside from snubs and shouts, at least. Lily was probably the safest person to confide in for the moment. If he decided to confide in anybody.

"Could I, um," Remus began. "Do you think I could speak to you? Just for a moment?" Remus asked.

* * *

It's pretty intimidating to wander the halls of Hogwarts when it's dark outside, even if it's not after curfew and you're fairly sure you're not doing anything wrong. Severus was feeling that exact feeling of worry as he shifted from one foot to another outside the Gryffindor's dorm entrance. James had told him to wait while he went to get Lily. That was five minutes ago. Severus was starting to feel pretty sure that James had just used going to get Lily as a convenient excuse to disappear into the dorm where Severus couldn't follow him and go to bed.

A shiver ran through his body. Severus really hoped James wasn't that much of a dick, or he was pretty sure he was just going to drop out or drop kick the boy in the nuts. He was pretty much on his last leg and not much for jokes, at this point.

Just as Severus was trying to decide if he should try to retain the little dignity he had and leave before someone saw him waiting outside or swallow his pride and knock on the painting (indignant fat woman or not), James emerged with a ruffled Lily.

She was just as wonderful as Severus remembered her, even in her long unattractive winter pajamas and her hair braided in a Spartan style down her back. The red head only had to take one look at Severus' red face to fly to his rescue.

"Oh, you poor dear!" she gushed, padding over to Severus in her huge Owl shaped slippers and throwing her arms around him. James rolled his eyes behind her back and Severus gratefully sunk into the embrace. Lily smelled like soap and baby powder.

"I haven't been able to see you since Madame Pomfrey released you," Lily exclaimed, as she pulled Severus away to look at him at arm's length. He looked miserable. His skin was flushed around the edges of his eyes and the tip of his nose. His clothing was all akimbo and his hair was a mess. But, what struck her the most was that all the alertness and acuity of his gaze had faded and dulled into a despairing downcast glance.

"What's wrong, Severus? What happened?" Lily asked, honest concern clouding her voice.  
Severus felt tears threaten, but fought them back by strength of will.

"I, uh," he began hesitantly, his voice thick with concealed emotion. "A lot has happened. And, uh, I really wanted to talk with you about it," Severus mumbled, his head still tilted down.

Lily's cheeks lit up a bright pink and a strange exuberance filled her expression. "Oh, Severus, of course!" she exclaimed, moving her hands down his arms and folding her fingers around him. "Here, let's go speak in private," she suggested, already heading off down the corridor, leaving a gaping James behind.

"Hey, what?" James yelped, not very much enjoying being left behind.

"Go to bed!" Lily snapped over her shoulder, her soft cooing voice dropping from her demeanor like so many sharp little rocks.

James immediately closed his mouth and stood there glowering at the backs of his two classmates as they disappeared down the hall. Sniffing a little derisively, James turned around, walked back to his dorm room, and got ready for bed.

* * *

Severus was sitting on a cold flagstone bench about an hour later, feeling a little raw and harried, but overall much better. He had spent the previous minutes telling Lily pretty much everything about what had happened. At first, he wasn't sure where he would even begin to start to unravel the horrible mess he was in. But, looking at her intense and worried face, he realized that it had all started with her.

He had started by confessing that he had really, really liked Lily, ever since they were children. That, he thought that James was horrible jerk and was convinced he would only make her cry. Which, in turn, lead to the admittedly stupid deal that he struck with James. Which lead to the accident with the Felix Felicis elixir. Which lead to Lucius starting a campaign against the Gryffindors. Which lead to Severus confronting him and Lucius confessing his feelings. Which lead Severus to be stuck in a toxic relationship with a boy he didn't love. Or, at least, he didn't think he loved.

Severus ended the mistake ridden story with his head in his hands and Lily rubbing slow comforting patterns in his back. God, did it ever sound horrible when he laid it all out like that.

Severus was afraid to look up at Lily and see her expression. He had heard her breath catch and seen her eyes widen from the corner of his eyes as he had told the beginning of the story. He hadn't looked at her since he started his story, afraid to see condemnation or hate there. He had only just gotten her to like him again. He really didn't want her to start hating or pitying him.

"I'm sorry, Severus," Lily said, her voice still soft and caring.

Hoping against hope, Severus cautiously turned his head up to look at the girl above him. Her face was still caring, she looked even more worried than before, but there wasn't a hint of disgust or spite in her face. She didn't hate him.

Severus felt his vision cloud up as gratitude warmed his chilled body from the inside out. He resolutely held back the tears.

"Thank you," he croaked out, wiping his eyes on the back of his sleeve.

Lily put a gentle hand on his arm, stopping his vicious scrubbing. She laughed gently, as she sat his arm back in his own lap.

"I won't pretend I'm not surprised!" she said, her voice still light and easy. "All of this skullduggery going on right beneath my nose! I suppose school life is probably even more interesting than the soaps try to make them seem," Lily twittered, obviously enjoying a personal joke.

Severus just watched her evenly.

Lily gave Severus' arm a warm squeeze. "Either way, you know what you have to do, right?" she asked, leaning in with a conspiratorial air.

"Uh?" Severus grunted, obviously having no idea what he had to do.

"You must be honest," Lily said gravely, pointing an accusing finger right into Severus' chest, above his heart. "Both of you boys are so silly, I don't know how you can't see it," Lilly laughed.

"Both?" Severus asked cautiously.

"Hiding your feelings is never the way to go! If you do, you always end up in these kinds of silly messes! Girls know, I suppose. That's why we usually start by confessing our feelings outright."

"Um, I'm sorry, Lily, who else has to be honest?" Severus asked worriedly.

"Oh, don't you worry yourself about that. You just have to tell Lucius and James how you really feel. They may be surprised and upset at first, but then you can, at least, live without regrets! And, that's always the best way to live," Lilly prattled on.

Severus laughed a little to himself.

"Yes, of course," he replied quietly.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Fandom:**Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling.  
**Pairings:** James Potter x Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy x Severus Snape, Remus Lupin x Sirius Black.  
**Summary:** James Potter mercilessly bullies Severus Snape during the day. But, at night, they honor a strange agreement. An exchange of ninety-three intimate encounters for the sake of Lilly's happiness.  
**Warnings:** No warnings! (warnings chapter specific).

* * *

'_This has to be the stupidest idea I've ever had,_' Severus thought to himself as he paced the worn flagstone floor outside the Great Hall. Golden dusk light was still filtering through the tall windows to warm the stone floor and Severus' back. The chattering of his classmates filling their stomachs with all manner of delicious food filtered through the huge open double doors. All of the separate conversations melded together into one low rumble.

A sigh escaped through Severus' chewed lips as he went through his plan again. Lily had advised him to be honest and he planned too. He had spent the entirety of the night before trying to work out his feelings so that he could express himself honestly to the people that mattered. He didn't feel like telling these people what he felt was at all smart or characteristic of him, but he knew that he had to be honest. Being proud and deceitful with himself was what had gotten him into this mess in the first place.

Severus had decided that he would deal with Lucius first, because he would be the person hardest to talk too. The most difficult part, aside from dealing with the blond Slytherin's reaction, would probably be separating him from his friends, if you could call them that. Severus' face colored at the prospect.

Before he could fully appreciate the horror of his situation, Lucius Malfoy and his gaggle of admirers noisily exited the Grand Hall to sweep in one motion down the stairs toward the Slytherin dorms.

Severus jogged after them as quickly as he could. He used his shoulders and elbows to try and push his way through the group of Slytherins who were trailing after Lucius and ignored their ruffled and indignant looks as he pushed past them.

"Lucius!" he gasped as he caught hold of the blonde's sleeve.

"Severus!" Lucius returned, not breaking his stride to take Severus' arm in his own and pull the hesitant brunette alongside him. "I haven't seen you since yesterday! I was starting to think you were avoiding me. What have you been up to?" Lucius asked, his expression painfully bright as he turned it on Severus.

"Ah, actually, I wanted to talk to you," Severus said hesitantly, pulling Lucius' arm in a desperate attempt to slow down him and his procession.

"Of course, anything!" Lucius beamed obliviously.

Severus blanched. Of course, Lucius didn't understand his meaning.

Already feeling his cheeks flush, Severus pulled on Lucius arm until the blonde's ear was right by his mouth. The eyes of the Slytherins following them swiveled to his face in a mixture of negative expressions. Severus forced, "Privately," out through his teeth, trying his best not to let the looks of his classmates get under his skin.

Lucius colored the strange gray that usually signified blushing for him. "Of course," he muttered, an unreadable expression on his face.

Pulling Severus off to the side of the corridor, Lucius waved the group of Slytherins on, unmindful of the mutterings and musings they voiced as they walked away.

The silence was long and awkward, as the two of them stood there, Lucius with his hands on Severus' elbows and Severus with his eyes on Lucius' shoes.

Clearing his throat, Lucius broke the silence. "There was something you wanted to tell me?"

Severus continued to hesitate. It was hard to hurt someone that you didn't feel any real resentment towards.

"Ah, yes, uh, Lucius … " Severus hesitated. He had recited a whole chorus of reasons to rattle off for Lucius. That they are in completely different stations in life, that he doesn't want to ruin Lucius' reputation (either with his own halfblood status or homosexual prejudice). That they really had very little in common and were too young to be engaging in such a lurid affair. That … he liked someone else. But, upon staring into Lucius' content and expectant face, all of these excuses sounded hollow and more than a little cruel. It was better, then … "Lucius, I want to break up." … To be swift.

Watching Lucius' face change was like watching a bow break. That was what Severus thought, though if he were more romantic, he would have thought it looked like a heart breaking. The content face lay frozen across his features for a few moments, before crumbling into confusion and shock, and finally shattering into a wrathful anger.

Severus flinched as he watched Lucius' usually light colored eyes turn dark and his whole body tense in anger. He was fairly sure that he was going to feel the blunt end of Lucius' anger across his face. But, all he felt was a slight gust of air as Lucius brushed past him to stride quickly down the hall.

Severus stayed frozen where he stood for a long moment, watching Lucius disappear down the dark corridor. Suddenly, his heart hurt and he wasn't sure why. He had broken up with Lucius, hadn't he? It wasn't his right to be sad. But, he was sad, none the less.

Rushing as fast as he could to get out of the oppressively dim hallways he had never found oppressive before, Severus tried to sort out his feelings an be honest with himself, as Lily had instructed him. He supposed he had expected Lucius to fight it more, because he had expected Lucius to want to preserve the relationship more. He supposed that it hurt just a little to find that Lucius didn't find it worth arguing over. And, he supposed, that the guilt weighing on his heart was a little heavier for being the only aggressor in their conversation.

The fresh air and slanted warm light that was still streaking through the windows in the upper level of Hogwarts as Severus rushed up stairs and dodged things flying through the air (both undead and inanimate). The lightness of the atmosphere helped to assuage some of the tightness in his chest as he trudged onward. After reaching the Northern tower, he was already fairly ready to get his honesty exercises over with so he could go back to his usual dishonest self.

In the end, Severus couldn't bring himself to walk up to the portrait of the Fat Lady and wait for someone to come out or go in. Instead, the dark haired Slytherin stood around on the stairs and tried to look like he was thoroughly studying a half-full notebook. He was too nervous and was starting to rethink the idea that getting all of his honesty out of the way in one fell swoop was such a good idea. In the end, he felt like this was just a way to get his heart to beat out a dent in his sternum.

Severus had just convinced himself that he would be better off putting his confrontation with James Potter off until the next decade when he heard his name being called from down the hall.

"Severus?" Sirius Black was saying, waving his hand hesitantly and jogging up to him. Remus Lupin was just a few paces behind, his approach much more reserved. "What are you doing up here? Do you need any help?" Sirius asked in a concerned voice. Severus pressed himself against the wall and Sirius proceeded to bend over to get a better look at Severus' agonized expression.

"Sirius," Remus admonished gently, a staying hand on Sirius' elbow and a pinched expression on his face. "Severus is most likely hoping to see someone, isn't that right?" Remus asked with a perfectly crafted kind smile directed towards the smaller Slytherin. It only served to pin Severus in place. "You are waiting to contact James, correct? I will go retrieve him. Sirius, why don't you come with me?" Remus asked kindly, patting Sirius' arm affectionately before moving off.

"Eh? Okay," Sirius seemed just as dazed as he followed after Remus with a quiet swish of his cloak.

Severus gaped after them as they disappeared up the dark corridor. He had been about two seconds away from turning around and walking outside into the snow (because he certainly couldn't return to his dorm after Lucius). Now, he was tied down to waiting for Lupin and Black to return with Potter. Or, maybe just for Potter. Severus felt a little sick at the thought.

The very admission that he might, god forbid the word, like James Potter in a romantic fashion made him feel like a freak. Sure, it was one thing if you were a hormonal teenage witch swooning for the Prince of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. It was quite another to matter to be a teenage wizard who is constantly on the receiving end of his taunts and teases to develop feelings for his tormentor.

Severus turned towards the wall and pulled his notebook towards his face. He could feel the blood pumping in his cheeks and was worried about what the casual passer-by might think of him. He was feeling more than a little freakish, at the moment.

"_Snivellus_?" he heard a family voice ask from farther up the stairs.

Severus let his forehead bump the stone wall in front of him. He was seriously regretting deciding to talk James so soon.

"_Seveeeeeeeerus_?" James sang as he trotted down the stairs to where Severus was brooding in a rather creepy fashion. He probably could have rivaled most of the ghosts in the school for being a terrifying grudge ridden ghost on most of his good brooding days.

"Severus, stop trying to scare the little ones," James said, very purposefully stepping down so that he said the words right into Severus' ear.

Severus snapped to attention and whipped around to face James. His face, as Severus was afraid of, was as red as a tomato, as a rose, or a very rare steak. James couldn't help but to feel a little embarrassed for causing such a display and colored a little across his nose and cheeks, as well.

"Severus, what in the world are you doing?" James asked dubiously, after enduring a long moment of Severus staring at him.

"I, uh, I'm waiting for you," Severus returned, his face turning even redder than before, if that was at all possible.

James raised his eyebrows a little bit.

"Really?" he asked. "Remus was being cagey and told me to go get him a sandwich. I suppose that was his way of making me come down here," James finished lamely, shuffling from foot to foot.

The two boys stared at each other for another long awkward moment before Severus finally looked away and rubbed his face with one hand.

"I just, um," Severus began, trying not to stumble over himself or bite his tongue (and failing horribly), "I just want to tell you something while I'm being honest," Severus explained, not quite looking James in the face.

"Oh, yeah?" James asked, leaning down so that his face came into Severus' line of sight. "Like what?"

Severus quickly adjusted his sight again, looking off to the side this time.

"I just, uh, wanted to say that I like you. That's all," Severus finished quickly, turning on his heel and starting down the stairs at a trot before the word, 'all' had really left his lips.

"Whoah, what? Severus, wait!" James yelped, after standing stunned for a few seconds. James immediately ran down the steps after Severus, his longer legs taking the steps two at a time. "What do you mean, you like me?" James asked in a panicked voice.

"I said what I said and it means what it means," Severus muttered, his head down as he continued to march down the stairs.

James kept pace with him the whole way down.

"You can't just blurt it out like that and then walk away!" James exclaimed.

"It seemed to work fine with Lucius," Severus muttered, rolling his eyes a little. "Except for the running away, anyway."

"What? Severus, stop!" James exclaimed, taking Severus by the arm and physically holding him still on the second to last step. "Can you please stop being a freak for two seconds?" James asked in an exasperated voice.

"Can you please not be a dick!" Severus yelled back.

"What? How am I being a dick! You just spring this on me and -!" James stopped mid-sentence and took a deep breath. "You know, you are possibly the most infuriating person I know," James said in a conciliatory tone. "You like me?" he finished, watching Severus' face closely.

Severus' glare faltered for a moment. "I don't know. I think so."

There was a long silence before.

"I like fighting with you more than listening to Lucius talk, anyway," Severus finished.

"Well, that's something," James conceded. "So, what? Is this the end?" he asked, incredulous.

"The end of what?" Severus asked suspiciously.

"The end of the story! This can't be the end. This is so anti-climatic!" James exclaimed.

"Why do I even talk to you?" Severus snapped, before shaking his arm loose and walking away.

"You like me more than Lucius?" James called after him.

"Yes!" Severus shot back over his shoulder.

"Good!" James yelled back. "Good," he said to himself, a pleased smile on himself. "I'll just have to do my best to make a better ending to this story. Because, this one seriously sucks," James spat, before turning and moving up the stairs.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Fandom:**Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling.  
**Pairings:** James Potter x Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy x Severus Snape, Remus Lupin x Sirius Black.  
**Summary:** James Potter mercilessly bullies Severus Snape during the day. But, at night, they honor a strange agreement. An exchange of ninety-three intimate encounters for the sake of Lilly's happiness.  
**Warnings:** No warnings! (warnings chapter specific).

* * *

Severus sat in one of the gilded gardens he so enjoyed. It was a courtyard garden on the north most edge of the school that was rarely used by student and staff alike. It was still well kept, as all the gardens of Hogwarts were, though if it were by some remnant of ancient magic or by the House Elves Severus had no idea.

The snow was still piled up around him from the steady snowfall that had occurred a number of nights ago. The stone path had been swept off by a broom, it looked to Severus, but wasn't disturbed elsewhere. So the snow was still perfect, untouched, and glimmered in the paltry rays of sunlight that were able to struggle past the high walls and strike the shining white stuff still laying on the ground. The snow that lay there would most likely last longer than the snow in the fields or in the mountains surrounding Hogwarts, due to its sheltered location.

Severus sighed heavily and his breath carried out into the air on a quickly dispersing cloud. His stout show of honesty had not been serving him well in the last few days and he was currently regretting it bitterly.

Since he had broken up with Lucius, his days were unusually long and lonely. Lucius made a point of ignoring his existence. Sometimes, Severus would catch Lucius staring at him over a text book or across their house table with a strange look on his face. But, otherwise, he was completely ignoring him. The other Slytherins were ignoring him as well, not that this was any great change from how they normally treated him. He was never very popular to begin with.

James was also acting strangely towards him. He would shoot glances at him during the few classes they shared. He would also give Severus the strangest things (Hellebore root, Remus' notes from Transfiguration, and even a pumpkin pasty one evening) with this strange appraising look that Severus wasn't at all sure he enjoyed.

Sirius was still traipsing after Severus constantly. Severus was beginning to take the attention in stride, especially since his new isolation was enacted by the Slytherin house. It was hard not too, the boy certainly had the air of a dog waiting nervously for the approval of his master. He supposed that Sirius was still awaiting absolution from his attack earlier in the year. Severus wasn't quite ready to give it to him yet, though he didn't mind the occasional company Sirius provided him in between classes.

Severus also couldn't shake the feeling that Remus Lupin didn't like him at all. He would often notice Lupin's cool eyes boring into him from across the Great Hall. He had no idea what he had done to put himself on the Prefect's radar, but he was currently doing all he could to try and get off of it. All of it to no avail, unfortunately.

The sound of a door opening and closing alerted Severus to the arrival of his classmate, Lily Evans. He had been waiting for her for a few minutes now and was doing his best to ignore the cold that was stealing into his fingers and toes.

"Oh, Severus! You didn't have to wait long, I hope?" Lily asked, walking up to Severus with a happy air.

Severus stood up to meet her. "No, not at all. I just got here," Severus lied. "I'm glad you came today, I've been having a horrible time of it," Severus despaired, taking his seat back on the bench. Lily sat delicately beside him, sitting her bag of books and notes down at her feet.

"Again today? I'm sorry, Severus," Lily said apologetically.

"It's nothing you need to apologize for," Severus said, smiling again. He was glad he had Lily back as a friend. He wasn't sure he would be able to continue on through school if he didn't have their occasional meetings.

"All the Slytherins are still ignoring you?" Lily asked. Severus nodded in affirmation. "That's horrible! I had always thought they were such a loyal house, you'd think they would stand by you! At least a few of them, anyway," Lily exclaimed in surprise.

Severus just smiled for a moment. The Slytherins were usually very loyal to one another. But, a division between members of the house usually caused a quick changing of allegiance. "I suppose Lucius and the others will get over it eventually. I'm sure I hurt Lucius' feelings rather badly and the other Slytherins look up to him. I don't think they are sure exactly what happened, but they will follow his lead without fail," Severus explained.

"I wish there was something I could do," Lily said in a despairing tone.

"Lily! You are doing something. I'm glad I have you to talk too. It really helps," Severus quickly assured Lily, trying to contain his own flustered emotions.

Lily smiled gently back at the nervous boy beside her. "Thank you, Severus. I'm glad I can do this much, at least. How are things with my Gryffindor boys, by the way?" Lily asked, leaning forward.

Severus slowly leaned back. "Ah, well," he began hesitantly, "James is still acting awfully strange. Yesterday, he gave me a number of Deadly Nightshade blooms which I'm rather sure he stole from the Herbology lab. I really don't understand what he means by giving me all these strange things. Sirius still meets up with me between Potions and Transfiguration. He walks me all the way to the dungeons. And, I've recently noticed that Lupin has been giving me these dreadful looks! I'm not sure if he's trying to figure something out or if he just wants me to drop dead," Severus expounded, feeling thoroughly wrung out after his confession.

"Oh," Lily said, her eyes going wide and a hand drifting to her mouth. "I might know what's going on with Sirius and Remus, at the least," Lily said with a giggle.

"What? Lily, you do?" Severus leaned in expectantly.

"Yes! But, I've sworn not to tell a soul!" Lily exclaimed, throwing her hands up and blushing. Her blushing cheeks complimented her deep red hair magnificently and Severus colored slightly, as well.

"Oh, I see. Well, I won't press you, then," Severus said quietly, settling down.

"Well, no! Wait!" Lily said, obviously excited about something. "I might be able to help a little. I mean, I can't tell you who told me what, but I still might be able to help you out. Listen, you think that Sirius is still following you around because he feels bad about putting you in the Medical Wing, right?"

Severus nodded his agreement.

"Why don't you just tell him you forgive him. Let him know that you want to be friends! Just friends. It would be even better if you could tell him in front of Remus, but telling him at all would be great."

"I, um, think I understand. I mean, I don't really understand what this will solve. Wait, is Remus angry because I won't forgive Sirius?" Severus asked.

Lily mimicked zipping her lips and throwing away the key. Severus smiled brightly.

"Okay, I understand! I'll let Sirius know. Besides, I think I've nursed my grudge long enough as is," Severus said.

"Good! I'm glad. Oh! Now, I have to tell you what Perelli told me in Potions class today!" Lily exclaimed, grinning widely.

Severus listened and laughed in all the right places. They continued their small break in lovely snow fallen peace.

* * *

Severus awoke the next day determined to let Sirius Black know that he forgave him for blasting his arm nearly off. He washed and dressed in silence. He then went to the Great Hall and ate his breakfast while being shunned by his classmates. Severus attended his morning classes as if he was invisible. It wasn't until Severus left his Transfiguration class that he saw Sirius.

As soon as he stepped out of Transfiguration, he spotted Sirius Black and Remus Lupin amongst a number of other students letting out of another classroom down the hall. Severus remembered what Lily had said about trying to forgive Sirius in front of Remus if possible and tried to push through the press of other students towards the two Gryffindors. But, Sirius waved off Remus before Severus could get to them. Remus shot Severus another venomous glance before smiling kindly at Sirius and moving off in the opposite direction. Severus wilted a little under Remus' glare.

"Severus!" Sirius called when he saw Snape. Severus blushed a little. Sirius was so tall, there was really no reason for him to wave his arms like that. Severus could see him just fine.

Severus walked the rest of the way to where Sirius was standing.

"How are you today, Snape? How was Transfiguration?" Sirius asked brightly. "Oh, would you like me to carry your books? What's that top one, it looks new," Sirius blathered on, already reaching towards Severus' arm full of books.

"Oh, no. That's okay, Sirius. I can carry them," Severus said, as he had every day since his arm had come out of its sling.

"Oh, okay," Sirius said with a little less energy as they moved down the corridor, naturally moving with the press of other students on their way to their next class.

"Actually, there was something that I wanted to talk to you about today," Severus said, speaking a little loudly so that Sirius could hear him over the low rumble of the students around them.

"Oh, really?" Sirius responded, nervously adjusting the strap of his book bag on his shoulder. "Okay, then let's talk," Sirius said, slowly making his way to a small corridor just off to their right.

Severus took stock of the hall they had moved into and saw that it was really more like a small alcove. The hall was just a few feet long before it stopped at a large suit of arming sporting a ridiculous claymore and a tartan shrug.

"What was it that you wanted to talk about?" Sirius asked after a moment, shaking Snape from his examinations.

Severus felt a little bad for starting off the conversation as he had. Sirius looked horribly nervous and he wasn't sure what it was that the taller boy was expecting that could make him so anxious.

"Um, I, uh, just wanted to let you know that you don't have to follow me around if you don't want to," Severus started. To his chagrin, Sirius looked as if he had just been slapped. "Not that I haven't enjoyed your company!" Severus was quick to add. "I mean, I feel like you just follow me because you feel bad about, ah, the incident before," Severus stumbled. "You don't have to worry about me, I'm fine. And, I really don't blame you for what happened. I'm sure it was just an accident. I know you wouldn't have cast that spell if you knew what it would have done," Severus finished lamely, feeling about as bad as he felt he could when trying to forgive someone.

Sirius seemed to brighten. "Thanks, Severus," he said slowly. "I really am sorry. I never meant to, uh, you know," Sirius muttered.

"I know. You're a good person. And, I forgive you for what you did. We should be friends," Severus said, honestly feeling a little better about the whole matter as soon as he said it.

Sirius brightened fully and seemed to gain back his pep. "Thank you, Severus! You really think I'm a good person? You know, you're not half the newt I thought you were when we were kids," Sirius laughed, slapping Severus on the back a few times and causing him to stumble forward.

The two boys walked out into the hall and started toward the dungeons and Severus' Advanced Potions class.

"I believe I'd be very glad to be your friend! It doesn't hurt to have smart friends, you know. Remus is very smart and all, but he can be very stingy with his homework. I heard you help Roland with his homework all the time!" Sirius blathered.

In fact, Sirius chattered away all the way to the dungeons. Severus, to his own surprise, enjoyed it immensely. It was much better than the awkward small talk that Sirius tried to make before. Severus rather enjoyed listening to people talk and Sirius held no end of topics to carry on about.

After the two reached the dungeons, they parted so that Sirius could reach his Herbology class on time. Severus arrived at his Potions class with a few minutes to spare and sat down in front of his cauldron and prepared himself for his Advanced Potions class with more than a little happiness swelling his heart. He felt that, perhaps, things were finally beginning to go his way.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Fandom:**Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling.  
**Pairings:** James Potter x Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy x Severus Snape, Remus Lupin x Sirius Black.  
**Summary:** James Potter mercilessly bullies Severus Snape during the day. But, at night, they honor a strange agreement. An exchange of ninety-three intimate encounters for the sake of Lilly's happiness.  
**Warnings:** No warnings! (warnings chapter specific).  
**Author's Note:** I apologize for the short length of this chapter. I've been holding onto it and going over it and I just can't seem to bring myself to make it longer. It's just a crappy bridging chapter. I'm just going to let it be short and hope the next one is better.

* * *

Somehow, everything seemed brighter to Sirius for the rest of the day. Sure, the weather was still crappy and a lot of people were still snubbing him in the halls. But, Sirius could hardly bring himself to care. He knew in his heart that the only person whose forgiveness he needed was Severus' and he had it. Thus, he had gained back his confidence and swelled at the feeling of being returned to his true and confident self.

Sirius Black verily floated into the Great Hall for lunch. All the other students were chattering away, anxious for the first semester of school to finally reach its end. No one really looked up when Sirius took his place towards the middle of the Gryffindor table beside Remus Lupin except, of course, Remus Lupin himself.

"Sirius! You're looking much more chipper today. Do you mind if I ask what happened?" Remus asked politely, setting his turkey and sweet potato sandwich aside and turning to face his taller classmate and friend.

"I don't mind at all!" Sirius returned with a grin. "It's just, you know, I had a talk with Severus today!"

Remus face seemed to freeze in the polite smile it was formed in. Sirius didn't notice.  
"He told me that he forgives me, can you believe it? Right to the point, I never expected it! From the way he wasn't talking much, I had figured he was still sore at me, but I suppose it wasn't that. Perhaps he's just quiet," Sirius prattled on.

Remus had turned his face away during Sirius' ramble and Sirius had begun to pile interesting looking sandwiches and salads onto his plate as they floated by.

"Oh, really?" Remus finally said after a pause. He smiled at Sirius, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. "That's really great, Sirius."

"Isn't it? And, we even continued on to his next class and we've decided to be friends! To think, Snivellus and I are friends! Oh, I suppose I should really break myself of calling him that," Sirius continued.

Remus tried to continue eating his lunch, but his appetite had suddenly deserted him. He didn't think he could possibly force down another bite.

"I want to thank you, Moony," Sirius said, leaning into Remus. "You always tried to tell us what we were doing was wrong. You were right! I will do my best not to be a nob like that to anyone ever again," Sirius pledged in a solemn voice.

Remus face seemed to droop considerably at hearing this. Sirius watched his friend struggle to pull a smile across his face and began to worry.

"Moony?" Sirius asked worriedly.

"Yo, Black!" someone screamed from farther down the table.

"What!" Sirius screamed back, irritation flitting across his face at being distracted.

"Shut Your Face!" the older boy yelled.

"What! Smeg, shut your face!" Sirius yelled back, quickly falling into a very daft conversation he had had with the seven year a number of times.

"No, you!"

"No, dick, you!"

Remus slowly started to pack up his things as the two wizards began to fall into a familiar tiff.

"I've got to go, Sirius. I'll talk to you later," Remus said to Sirius as he stood from the table.

"What? Hey, Moony, wait! Don't go, I mean," Sirius began, turning away from the dubiously named 'Smeg' to try and get Remus to stay and talk.

"Your Mother Has AIDS!" Smeg yelled from down the table.

"You don't even know what that is!" Sirius yelled back with venom.

"Do you?" Smeg asked, his anger instantly subsiding.

"No, where did you ever hear such a thing?" Sirius responded, anger dying in kind.

While the two boys were absorbed in what Remus had never quite decided was an argument or just something exceedingly stupid, he slipped out of the Great Hall and towards his next class. It wasn't due to begin for almost fifteen minutes, but he supposed that Professor Binns wouldn't mind if he came early.

His heart was clenched painfully in his chest and he couldn't get the image of Sirius stooped with caring over Severus' smaller form out of his head. He supposed that it would be no time at all before Sirius was fawning without pause over Severus, much as James had been since his accident. Remus had always valued the friendship of his fellow Marauders more than anything else and wasn't going to let his own sore heart get in the way of their friendship. But, it was very hard for him to stamp down the anger he felt at seeing the tiny slimy Slytherin boy take Sirius' attentions for himself. Remus had never thought himself to be someone who could become jealous, but this trial was quickly proving that assumption to be wrong.

With determination, Remus Lupin pushed the feeling back, as he had pushed so many feelings back over the years and pressed a content expression onto his face. He pasted a smile over his features and knocked on the door to his next class. Professor Binns let him into the classroom with nary a word of contest. 

"Hey, what's wrong with Remus," Sirius asked as he pushed James over to make room for himself on the bench of the Gryffindor table.

Sirius had finally extricated himself from the seventh year boy, Smeg's, attentions. But, by the time he had done so, Remus had already left the Great Hall.

"How the fuck should I know?" James returned with disinterest. He was staring with intensity towards the Slytherin table. Sirius didn't have to follow his line of sight to know who he was looking at.

"You know, James, you could at least pretend to give a shit about us," Sirius snapped.

"No, see, I do care about all of you," James replied, still not tearing his gaze away from Snape. "If I didn't, I wouldn't be so honest with you about my feelings."

Sirius sighed and put his head down on the table. "James, come on, for real," he muttered into his arms.

"For real?" James asked with a sigh. Sirius heard him shift as he moved to turn around and face the table. "I honestly have no idea. Just that he's been all distance and angst. You have always been closer to him, it's a bad sign if you're asking me."

"But, you're always so perceptive," Sirius muttered, resting his chin on his forearms.

"I know I'm fucking awesome, you don't have to tell me," James laughed, starting to pack up his books and papers. Lunch was very nearly over. "Unfortunately, on this subject I have no help to offer. You'll just have to do the unthinkable and ask Moony what's wrong."

"James, you're an ass," Sirius deadpanned.

James laughed and turned to watch Severus trail out of the Great Hall, noticeably separated from the other Slytherins by a number of feet.

"You really like him, right?" Sirius asked quietly, a tinge coloring his cheeks as he let his eyes follow Severus, as well.

James jumped a little, as if he had been bit. "What makes you say that?" James asked cautiously.

Sirius raised an eyebrow and James folded.

The bespectacled young man sighed irritably and shifted the weight of his bag on his shoulder. "I don't know. I suppose it's fate or something equally daft."

"I suppose," Sirius agreed, seeming to ponder heavily on something for a moment.

"Anyway! Talk to Remus!" James yelled, finally turning and dashing off after Severus as he disappeared into the throng of dark colored robes spilling out into the halls of Hogwarts.

Sirius sighed for, possibly, the sixth time since Remus ran off on him.

"I suppose," Sirius agreed.


End file.
